‘I see fat people’
Posted on March 11, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science!, That Wacky Australia | Leave a Comment |
Australian scientists claim they’ve stumbled upon a sixth sense – but not the kind where you become Haley Joel Osment and end up having a movie career that goes nowhere. No, researchers down under have found a new flavor sense: fat.
It’s more or less a well known fact that fat is an excellent vehicle for food flavors and has a highly appealing mouth-feel. A new study, however, suggests that along with sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (essentially, the ability to detect protein), we can also actually taste fat itself.
Dr. Russell Keast, an exercise and nutrition sciences professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, conducted a study. In the Deakin study, Dr. Keast and his team gave a group of 33 people fatty acids found in common foods, mixed in with nonfat milk to disguise the telltale fat texture. All 33 could detect the fatty acids to at least a small degree.
Here’s where it gets exciting: While all participants could detect some fat, some were better at it than others. With this in mind, the researchers then explored whether sharper fat-tasting abilities corresponded to fat consumption. They did: The higher a person’s fat-tasting sensitivity, the fewer fatty foods that person ate, and the lower that person’s body mass index was.
”I may be very sensitive to sweet tastes, while somebody else may be insensitive. This is common throughout the tastes, and it’s exactly what we’re finding with fat,” Dr. Keast told the Sydney Morning Herald. “People who are very sensitive to fat can taste very low concentrations of it. It appears [those] people have a mechanism that is telling them to stop eating it.”
Findings could lead to an entirely new approach to obesity. Dr. Keast’s team is on the case. Meanwhile, pass the butter and weapons grade lard.
Written by Chris "Chugs" TaylorA toast: To guilt!
Posted on March 5, 2010
Filed Under Booze News, It Must Be Science! | 1 Comment |
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management researchers have learned something interesting about guilt: it makes you drink. For some reason, millions of Americans want to forget why they feel guilty, and nothing helps you forget like booze.
But did you know that undergraduates feel guilty about drinking underage and/or to excess? When shown Canadian (?) anti-drinking drinking public service ads, the teens decided they needed a drink.
American teens drinking to forget guilt-trips from our frozen, drunken neighbors to the north? Yeah, we’ll drink to that, too.
Written by Rick SneeA fix for Alzheimer’s? What’s that? A fix for Alzheimer’s? What’s that?
Posted on March 3, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science! | Leave a Comment |
Researchers have long believed that amyloid plaques either cause Alzheimer’s or are a key factor, and a lot of money has gone into researching drugs that reduce the prevalence of these plaques. So it’s a great cause for celebration that bapineuzumab, a drug now being developed by Elan Corp. and now owned by Johnson & Johnson, showed an ability to reduce amyloid plaques in 28 patients. At the end of the 18-month study period, the patients had 25 percent less amyloid plaques than a control group. And the bapineuzumab patients actually had less plaques than they had at the start of testing.
But like most all good things, there’s a bit of a catch. Actually, there are two catches here. The first is that bapineuzumab can have dangerous side effects — high doses can have ill effects, as earlier tests found, and two patients in the current study had cerebral edemas caused by water on the brain. But it sounds like the side-effects are manageable, and it may be just a matter of finding the right dosage.
The bigger catch is, we still don’t know if amyloid plaques are a cause or merely a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. A large and growing number of researchers believe the true cause of Alzheimer’s is the tangles of tau proteins that also accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.
In any case, whether bapineuzumab turns out to be a wonder drug, or a dead end, the real breakthrough here is the development of a method of assessing a patient’s number of amyloid plaques, something we could only do after death, via autopsy, until now. Now, we can only hope that we don’t need to repeat the same research multiple times over.
Written by Chris "Chugs" TaylorIf you’re reading this, you don’t have it
Posted on March 1, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science!, Sex Sells | Leave a Comment |
The world is skeptical of sex addiction, or hypersexual disorder, in the wake of recent sex scandals–most notably that of Tiger Woods.
Sure, we live in a world where our greatest information-sharing and connectivity tool is used predominantly for pornography. We even have terms for postponing work or other activities to indulge ourselves, like “procrasturbating.”
But, calling the urge to continue the species (if we forget to take precautions) a disease like restless leg syndrome or erectile dysfunction, well … that’s just taking things a little too far, right? (Which is what your mom did not say last night.)
It may not be a disease, yet, but psychiatrists are considering the addition of hypersexual disorder to their next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (The link includes a checklist for your hypochondriac amusement.)
All we’re saying is that, should this happen, employers better expect more sick days taken.
Written by Rick SneeIf you can enforce a ban, you can enforce a quota
Posted on February 23, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science!, Tokyoh-no!, War on Animals | Leave a Comment |
The International Whaling Commission (don’t let the name fool you–they’re ag’in’ whaling) is offering a truce to longtime animal warriors Japan. Instead of continuing their outright ban, which the Japanese dodge by calling their kills “science,” the IWC might permit them to limited whaling with as-of-yet undetermined quotas.
How do the Japanese justify killing the better part of 30,000 whales, the majority becoming food, since 1986 as science?
1) Food science is science. It’s science that you eat. Without out it, there would be no Twinkies, Cheez-Whiz and other “foods.” It’s only a matter of time before the Japanese discover a fish-like substance that tastes like whale.
2) Less whales equals more Japanese people. The world’s seaweed and tiny gross fish supplies are running scarce because whales eat it all. What will the Japanese eat if they can’t cut it up and tie it to rice? Spaghetti-Os?
3) The best technology comes from war. We’re at war, but the Japanese are facing a giant, intelligent foe that may use language to coordinate its underwater convoys. Therefore, any weapons they develop for whaling will lead to peacetime innovations like odorless braces and typhoon guns.
Written by Rick SneeSeriouslyGuys makes you smarter
Posted on February 22, 2010
Filed Under Fun Fact, It Must Be Science! | Leave a Comment |
Readers, we know you’re already pretty smart. You’re reading SeriouslyGuys at work, maybe even in school, and we bet you haven’t been caught yet.
We’ve been high-fiving your intelligence with penis jokes for years, and now 75 percent of surveyed “scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers” agree: SeriouslyGuys (and some of the rest of the Internet) makes you smarter.
Of course, there’s still that pesky 25 percent that believes that you use the Internet to serve as your intelligence or reinforce what you already believe. You know that’s not true, and–to prove it–we said so.
Written by Rick SneeHow fat is baby? Soooo fat
Posted on February 12, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science! | Leave a Comment |
It looks like even babies are starting to let themselves go, according to Dr. John Harrington.
Dr. Harrington has just released research of obese children’s medical records that were gathered by himself and colleagues. They started gaining weight as infants, and 50 percent were overweight by age 2, and 90 percent by 5.
So, parents, if you want to reach your kids before they really pork out, maybe you should scatter some magazines around the house with idealized skinny kids. And make sure to add some passive-aggressive digs like, “Are you sure you want stringed cheese?” and, “It’s amazing how much bigger they make diapers these days.”
Written by Rick SneeBoning up on beer
Posted on February 8, 2010
Filed Under Booze News, It Must Be Science! | Leave a Comment |
We already knew beer was good for your heart, vascular system and working out your liver muscles. But, little did we know that it’s also good for your bones!
Researchers at the University of California, Davis discovered that beer is a source of dietary silicon–which may be good for bone growth–and that beers with high levels of malted barley and hops carry the most.
Listen, fellas, if old milk ads have taught us anything, it’s that women love a healthy set of bones. So, bottom’s up!
Written by Rick SneeNew study reveals teens still lie about sex
Posted on February 3, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science!, Sex Sells, War on Education | Leave a Comment |
So, in spite of rising STD and pregnancy rates, a new study claims that abstinence-only education is “working.”
If you’re anything like the Guys, you’re probably wondering, “How is that working?” Because the study moved the goalposts.
The success of abstinence-only education is now based on how many teens have sex afterwards. You know, because it’s OK if less teens have more babies and genital warts.
It may be like saying that there’s less overall crime, but there’s more rape and murder than ever. But at least we finally got littering under control!
Written by Rick SneeIt’s here, it’s purple and green, get used to it!
Posted on January 22, 2010
Filed Under It Must Be Science! | Leave a Comment |
Vegetables just got a little bit more disgusting interesting as the first new vegetable to hit store shelves in nearly a decade is making its debut in the U.K.
A cross between Brussels sprouts and curly kale, the new vegetable, called the flower sprout, is a small purple and green sprout with curly leaves. Brussels sprouts-yup, anything crossed with them is a definite winner with kids. Market test research, the scientists did not. It will be sold at Marks & Spencer grocery stores in Britain starting Monday-the first new veggie added to the roster since tenderstem broccoli came on the scene in 2002.
“Customers love our mini lemons and black apricots — we hope people will be just as excited about tasting a completely new vegetable. Both kale and Brussels sprouts are from the same species (Brassica oleracea) and are part of the same family called Brassicas or Crucifers. This means that their genetics are very similar even though their outward appearance is different,” he said.
This allows them to be cross-bred, creating a new hybrid species. The flower sprout’s taste is similar to that of the Brussels sprout, and it’s best served steamed or stir fried.
Read that last sentence again. Kids, now might be a good time to run for the hills.
Written by Chris "Chugs" Taylor keep looking »