Phytochemicals In Plant-based Foods Could Reduce your Fat

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Eating more plant-based foods, which are rich in substances called phytochemicals, seems to prevent oxidative stress in the body, a process associated with obesity and the onset of disease, according to findings published online in  Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.o get enough of these protective phytochemicals,  eat plant-based foods such as leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes at the start of a meal.

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Posted in BIODIVERSITY, Food | 2 Comments

NASA Advised to Skip Moon Mission

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

NASA needs to make a major detour on its grand plans to return astronauts to the moon, a special independent panel is telling the White House.NASA has picked the wrong destination with the wrong rocket, the panel’s chairman said .

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Posted in Moon, Solar System, Space | 1 Comment

Humans ARE Still Evolving

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Data collected as part of a 60-year study suggests that humans are likely to evolve at roughly the same rates as other living things. (Credit: iStockphoto)

Although advances in medical care have improved standards of living over time, humans aren’t entirely sheltered from the forces of natural selection, a new study shows.It was thought that because medicine has been so good at reducing mortality rates, that means that natural selection is no longer operating in humans,” said Stephen Stearns of Yale University.

A recent analysis by Stearns and colleagues turns this idea on its head. As part of a working group sponsored by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC, the team of researchers decided to find out if natural selection — a major driving force of evolution — is still at work in humans today. The result? Human evolution hasn’t ground to a halt. In fact, we’re likely to evolve at roughly the same rates as other living things.The changes may be slow and gradual, but the predicted rates of change are no different from those observed elsewhere in nature, the researchers say….

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India to launch two satellites to study climate change

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

India will soon join a select space club by launching two dedicated satellites in polar orbit to study climate change through atmospheric research and detection of greenhouse gases.The satellites will be launched in 2010 and 2011. The first will be a 50 kg micro-satellite to conduct atmospheric research. The second will be a remote sensing satellite to monitor emission of greenhouses gases like methane and carbon dioxide.

The dedicated satellites will make India one of the few countries in the world to have such advanced facility to study the impact of climate change due to emission of greenhouse gases.

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Posted in climate change, Countries, India, Satellites | 7 Comments