In what sport could you not use a 20 percent boost in performance? Scientists have found a food that does just that — the beet. And the why? It’s a root that naturally contains high levels on nitrates.
“This is one of the sports nutrition stories of the decade,” Dr. Andy Jones of England’s University of Exeter said of his teams work. “I think this is one of these discoveries, for want of a better word, that transcends — it’s not just performance, but it has a health application and implication as well.”
Part of the energy cost of athletic performance is in oxygen — the body burns through oxygen as it works. If performance consumes less oxygen, the body can work for longer before fatiguing. One way to do this is to increase blood flow to transport oxygen. Nitrates do just that: they increase blood flow plus dilate blood vessels, so the workload of the heart is reduced so it can better deliver oxygen to the muscles that burn it.
Other research has found that drinking a glass (about half a liter) of beetroot juice every day lowers blood pressure by about seven percent.
The team had study participants drink beetroot juice for two weeks. Then these participants hit the gym with their lowered blood pressure and dilated blood vessels to exercise, hooked up to performance-measuring equipment. When they did, their blood vessels dilated more easily and their hearts consumed less oxygen.
“We found a significant reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise, which implies that energy demand of exercising at a particular work rate is significantly lower.”
The benefits for athletes fully exerting themselves was even more profound.
“When we extended our studies to ask our subjects to exercise to exhaustion, we found that they were able to go significantly longer at the same high intensity work rate, so there seemed to be a performance benefit as well.
“The reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise during sub-maximal work was or the order of five to 10 percent, which is really quite meaningful, and then the improvement in the times to exhaustion — at a high intensity rate — were of the order of 15 to 20 percent.”
Beet root juice may also help to reduce blood pressure because of the same naturally high level of nitrates, the research has found.
Old age, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other metabolic diseases — these are some of the populations Jones would like to explore his findings in.
“We and others are at the beginning, really, of this story, so there are dialogues going on with NHS and with various charities, the elderly and others, who want to deal with medical conditions — to really try and use this in a more practical way.”
Beetroot juice is not the only way to get nitrates, although it was the souce studied by the Exeter team. Celery, cabbage, spinach, and some lettuces and other green vegetables also contain high concentrations of nitrates.
The drugs, bisphosphonates, are commonly used to prevent osteoporosis bone loss, and the scientists behind the new study believe bisphosphonates starve cancer cells in the bone.
According to their research, women may benefit most from taking the drugs early in their treatment.
The research team looked at data from 26 separate trials of the drug, and found a 28% reduction in cancers for post-menopausal women, as well as an 18 percent reduction in death within 10 years of first diagnosis.
In the US, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, it is predicted, and this year around 230,000 new cases are expected, while 42,000 women are expected to die this year from the disease.
Bone is a frequent second host to the breast. Even when a tumor is removed from the breast, tiny cancer fragments can remain and spread, usually settling in bone where it can lie dormant for years.
Although the drug costs less than 10 cents per day, the scientists expressed concern that this low drug value will keep pharmaceutical companies from producing it. The drug is not in patent. This has caused cancer research advocates to call for new guidelines on the production of bisphosphonates.
The report, “Adjuvant bisphosphonate treatment in early breast cancer: meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomised trials,” was completed by the staff of the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG)
Archery tag. Do you love dodgeball? Do you love archery? Do you love exciting action? This sport has all of these, and its popularity is rising.
New Zealander Sam Humphreys is expanding the new sport. It’s catching on locally, and Humphreys’ hopes to hold national competitions for the island. International competitions, too — the Humphreys are trying to develop a team to play against Australia next year.
Humphreys and his wife Paula-Lee are already active travelling around their region of New Zealand, promoting the sport and their company NZ Bow Sports Ltd. Local businesses now sell archery tag equipment, archery-tag themed parties are held, and holiday programmes include the sport as an entertainment option.
Archery tag spread to the Australian continent from the US a couple of years ago, and currently the growing sport has over 350 licences in 34 countries.
The game
With four six-minute quarters, players can be exhausted at the end of an intense match, which starts when a whistle blows and the five players on each side rush to the safe zone between the two sides to grab their arrows, then rush back and begin the engagement.
Players aim for each other and for the five-disk targets. If a player is hit anywhere except the head, or if his arrow is caught mid-air, he is out of the game, and if all players on a team are knocked out the team loses.
However, players can be brought back into the game by their team members when those team members catch an arrow mid-flight or hit one of their opponents’ five disks.
Players are required to wear a protective helmet at all times, and the arrows are foam-tipped.
Unlike paintball, to which archery tag has been compared, the game is family friendly — it doesn’t hurt when you get hit anymore than getting hit by a tennis ball hurts, according to Humphreys.
A joint letter was sent today to the International Olympics Committee calling on them to reject China’s bid for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, citing past claims that the 2008 Games would reduce China’s human rights violations contrasted with evidence that the 2008 Games actually increased human rights abuses in the Asian nation.
The letter, which was submitted one week before the Olympic committee makes its decision, was signed by the president of the World Uyghur Congress, the director of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center, the president of Initiatives for China and a former Tibetan political prisoner, jailed and tortured for actions related to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
The letter states, “All of the people we represent have suffered as a result of the Chinese government’s contempt for human rights. We hope that you are aware by now that the 2008 Beijing Games did nothing to alleviate human rights abuses in China or enhance freedom.”
The letter warns the Olympic committee not to make the same mistake it made last time, when the IOC expected awarding Beijing the Games would improve human rights in China.
“The reality is that the 2008 Beijing Olympics left a trail of human rights abuses directly linked to the Games,” the letter asserts, citing Human Rights Watch’s 2008 report on the Beijing Games, which documents some of the abuses.
The letter also references the Olympic spirit, which, as other human rights groups representatives have pointed out, expressly requires safeguarding the dignity of the individual as a requirement of Olympism, and questions how allowing the Games to become a part of human rights violations will reflect on the Olympics.
“Until the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party are prepared to reform and recognize the inherent rights of all people, they should not be awarded the honour of another Olympics,” the letter states. “The IOC must recognise that the Olympic spirit and the reputation of the Olympic Games will suffer further damage if the worsening human rights crisis in China is simply ignored.”
The conclusion of the letter is a warning: “[T]he Games returning to Beijing will be a green light for the government’s ongoing abuse of their rights and denial of their hopes for freedom.”
With one week to go before the International Olympic Committee makes its decision, Human rights groups are raising their voices in protest over the possibility of China being awarded another Olympic Games. One hundred seventy-five such groups have joined in submitting a letter to the committee saying the IOC should refuse China’s bid on the grounds of China’s human and civil rights record.
“Specifically, the Olympic Code of Ethics says, ‘Safeguarding the dignity of the individual is a fundamental requirement of Olympism’ while the Charter aims to put ‘sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.'”
Matteo Mecacci, President of ICT
“To evaluate the issue of the next winter Olympic games in China we have to take a broader look at the developments in China,” Mecacci told us.
Meccaci, who has presided over the ICT since 2013, elaborated on the types of offences dealt with every day by the organization.
“ICT is very concerned about the serious human rights violations that continue to take place in Tibet through repressive political campaigns, institutional racism, and long-term policies that marginalize Tibetans economically, threaten the survival of the Tibetan identity, and cause tension and ill-will between the Chinese and Tibetans peoples. We are also concerned about the increasing repression of human rights advocates all over the country since Xi Jinping rose to power.”
Mecacci also commented on the recent mass jailing of Chinese lawyers and the death of one of China’s most notable Tibetan prisoners.
“The last 2 weeks have seen a wide-ranging attack on civil society by Chinese authorities, including the detention of more than 70 lawyers, and the death of a revered Tibetan lama, the highest profile Tibetan political prisoner whose case was raised by governments worldwide.
“There is an urgent need for the international community to push back against China’s hardline policies and violations of human rights and to send a signal of support to Chinese civil society and the Tibetan and Uyghur people.”
Mecacci expressed sentiments similar to other Tibetan rights groups that if the IOC chooses China as host again, they would in effect be condoning China’s continued human rights abuses.
“They would be supporting a government that continues to jail and intimidate responsible and moderate individuals who are trying to create a better and fairer society,” stated Mecacci.
“The Chinese people deserve to be part of international sport events, including hosting them, but it is up to the Chinese leadership to show — and to make a credible and verifiable commitment — to the International Olympics Committee and the international community that it is deserving of yet another Olympics. Sadly, the Chinese Government so far has failed to make this commitment and show concrete results. Without this, awarding China with another Olympics will not be a wise decision.”
Warmer waters in the north mean less overwinter death and increased growth for cold-blooded fish, so they will benefit from global warming… or so the theory went. New research says that these species may actually suffer more than they benefit, and global warming will end up reducing their populations.
“Even if summer conditions are better for growth under a warmer climate, this may mean little if the number of offspring produced has already been limited by short, warm winters,” Auburn University’s Dr. Troy Farmer told The Speaker.
The research team studied a particular species of northern fish, yellow perch, in Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes shared between the United States and Canada.
The reason for the yellow perch population reduction, the team found, had to do in large part with reproduction and early development.
Dr. Troy Famer
“Our results suggest that climate warming during winter may negatively affect yellow perch populations by reducing reproductive success,” Farmer told us.
A shorter winter, the researchers found, results in a spawn that takes place within warm waters. A warm water spawn is different from a cold water spawn for yellow perch: smaller eggs are produced that hatch at lower rates and produce smaller larvae.
“Our research also offers an explanation for observed trends in Lake Erie yellow perch populations. Specifically, it indicates that reduced reproductive success may be responsible for lower juvenile abundance following short, warm winters. Ultimately, we also found that years of low juvenile abundance led to lower adult abundances in future years.”
This makes for a new picture of the future cold water fish species, according to Farmer:
Yellow Perch
“Climate change will likely affect northern fish species in many different ways. As winters get shorter, longer summer growing seasons may benefit some fishes. However, shorter winters may also have negative effects on reproduction, as our study indicates. Understanding which species thrive and which species decline in a warmer climate will require a more complete understanding of how warmer temperatures during both summer and winter influence all aspects of survival, growth, and reproduction. For some fishes, such as our study species, yellow perch, the negative effects of short winters on reproduction may outweigh any positive benefits from a longer growing season.”
“Prior to our research, scientists speculated that cool-water fish species like yellow perch would benefit from warmer temperatures associated with climate change. Warmer temperatures would equate to a longer growing season, which could lead to larger fish that survive the winter better or that could produce more eggs or better quality larvae. But, few studies have speculated on how reproduction might be affected by a change in winter severity or temperature.
“When we looked at long-term monitoring data for yellow perch in Lake Erie, however, we saw just the opposite: short, warm winters were followed by fewer juveniles the following year. The largest cohorts of juvenile fish came after long, cold winters.
Lake Erie in winter
“Yellow perch females spawn (or lay their eggs) during the spring, which means any effect of winter temperatures on juvenile production were likely the result of temperature effects on adults during the egg development phase. This phase occurs during winter.
“One potential explanation for this pattern was suggested by previous laboratory research, conducted in the 1970s, which suggested that yellow perch require a certain number of cold days to successfully develop their eggs – but the reasons for this were unknown.”
The teams research involved a simple comparison; they studied yellow perch in both warm and cold water conditions and recorded how the two groups fared.
“We conducted a laboratory experiment in which we exposed half of a group of adult female yellow perch to a short winter and the other half to a long winter. Females exposed to the short winter produced smaller eggs that hatched at lower rates and produced smaller larvae than females exposed to a long winter. This is important because large larvae grow and survive better than small larvae during their first months of life in Lake Erie. These results help explain why short winters were associated with poor years of yellow perch production in Lake Erie.
Farmer also touched upon the complexity of the cold water ecosystem of Lake Erie, and how the diet of fish species like yellow perch might also be affected by warmer waters.
Yellow Perch eggs
“We also observed another negative effect of warm winters on yellow perch reproduction. When spring arrival was extraordinarily early, yellow perch did not shift their spawning time. Instead, females spawned at the normal time when temperatures were already too warm. Unfortunately, zooplankton (the prey of the yellow perch larvae) might grow in response to warming temperatures, appearing earlier in years with an early spring. Thus, short winters may cause a mismatch in timing between yellow perch larvae and their prey.”
What can we expect then, for ectotherms if their environments continue to suddenly heat up?
“Most temperate ectotherms have highly evolved lifecycles that are tightly coupled to seasonal temperature cycles,” Farmer told us. “As summers grow longer and the duration of cold winter temperatures shrink, this may disrupt the highly evolved lifecycles of ectotherms. In our study species, yellow perch (a cool-water fish), we saw that shorter winters negatively affected egg development and altered the timing of spawning, leading to lower reproductive success.”
The report, “Short winters threaten temperate fish populations,” was completed by Troy M. Farmer, Elizabeth A. Marschall, Konrad Dabrowski & Stuart A. Ludsin, and was published on Nature Communications.
Alan Savage was a part of Middlesborough-based new wave experimentalists Basczax in the late seventies, frontman of 80s new romantics The Flaming Mussolinis, and in more recent years has been spotted languishing on a Malaysian beach. With news appearing that Savage is set to return to the UK, Seraglio Point Productions have released this teenies compilation of the songwriter’s best work this decade.
‘Transmissions…’ is the absolute definition of a grower. The kind of vineyard Lit rock these songs represent is unique, carefully honed vessels, pored and agonised over until just right. Futuristic, chromatic tales such as opener ‘Sexy Robot’ and instrumental stomper ‘Crocus Licker’ bookend more reflective, time-worn beauties such as ‘Velvet and She’ and the sublime, Roy Orbison-fronting-New Order loveliness of ‘Lonely Eyes’.
The entire central section from ‘Flare Stacks’ to ‘…Eyes’ is frankly wonderful – the kind of segment the much overused phrase ‘classic album’ was invented for. All complex music should be listened to at least four times to give it time to percolate through to the soul; on the fifth the listener will be hooked for a lifetime. The aforementioned ‘Flare Stacks’ is utterly perfect; half-forgotten memories of Brian Eno’s ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ rising up a hillside to meet Mercury Rev coming down.
Alan Savage is a new wave survivor of the finest vintage, honing, refining and never letting an intelligent radio pop hook escape without sinking it deep into the consciousness. ‘Patricia Wants Everyone To Know’ that not only does she keep her post-op penis in a cigar box, but that her creator has also come up with one of the finest collection of songs of the decade so far.
Thousands of Chrysler vehicles can be hacked into from any computer connected to the internet, cutting out breaks, steering and transmission, according to two security experts and hackers who spend the last year creating a Uconnect hack.
Recently, a 2014 Jeep Cherokee was tested out by WIRED editor Andy Greenberg, who let the hackers attack his vehicle from the comfort of their couch as he proceeded down the highway.
Charlie Miller, security engineer at Twitter and Chris Valasek, director of vehicle safety research at Idactiv, triggered Greenberg’s PTSD by cranking the volume of the music and level of the fan in the vehicle, then activating the parking brake as the journalist drove down a busy highway.
So far, the hack has only been tested on the 2014 Jeep, but the team says that all late-model Chryslers equipped with Uconnect software are vulnerable.
According to Greenberg, who followed up on the security issue, Chrysler has since released a software update for the Uconnect issue. Chrysler posted a notice to its website informing its customers about a “software update to improve vehicle electronic security.”
For late-model Chryslers with Uconnect, owners are advised to update their software by entering their VIN number on Chryslers website, download the update to a USB, connect the USB to the vehicle, and answer the vehicle’s prompt, “Yes,” the owner confirms he wants to update the software.
This update is also a free service for anyone who brings their Chrysler into a dealership.
The age of homemade flying guns is upon us, as a Connecticut teenager demonstrated Tuesday, posting a YouTube video of a semi-automatic handgun strapped to a homemade helicopter drone, firing shots in the forest.
The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating 18-year-old Austin Haughwout from Clinton, Connecticut, who may have violated FAA regulations, which prohibit reckless operation of a model aircraft.
The teen created the multirotor last week, according to his father, who said it was done with the help of a Central Connecticut State University professor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCchlgezatc
This is not the first time Haughwout has made news with a drone. Last year the teen flew a drone near a woman at a beach, and the woman, Andrea Mears of Westbrook, Connecticut, was later charged for assaulting the teen. The video posted by Haughwout shows Mears physically assaulting him while calling him a pervert.
In a park in Heze city in China’s eastern Shandong province, two people were killed and 24 wounded, including three currently in critical condition, when a bomb was detonated Monday night. The bomber was also killed.
Chinese authorities have identified the man as Xie Xintang, 33, an unemployed villager. official state media Xinhua, which originally reported the incident, did not provide details about the motive of the man or about the explosion, which happened at 10:34 local time at Huxi park, Heze city, Shanxian county, Shangdong.
Other Chinese reports say the man was chronically ill and his condition had recently worsened.
Monday night’s terrorist attack in southeastern Turkey, in which 31 people were killed and around 100 injured, may be the first of a series of seven.
The Turkish government is pointing toward the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the attack in Suruc, and if it was carried out by the terrorist group this would be their first suicide bombing in Turkey. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
As reported by Turkish news organization Hurriyet Daily News, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) of Turkey repeatedly warned national security services about seven ISIL militants — four men and three women — who crossed the southern border with Syria.
On June 22 and July 3 MIT warned authorities about the seven individuals, provided their names, and stated that there existed an extremely high risk of terrorist attack, after which notice police began counter-ISIL operations in Istanbul, Ankara, Sanliurfa, Konya and Izmir, during which they detained nearly 100 people, but this did not lead to the arrest of any of the seven.
The International Olympic Committee will make its decision about which nation will host the 2022 Games July 31, and rights groups are questioning — and petitioning — the committee about China’s bid, referring to China’s ongoing human rights abuses and claims the committee made last time around that awarding China the Games would improve human rights in the Asian nation.
Awarding China again, rights groups like Free Tibet say, would in effect be supporting China’s human rights abuses.
“Giving the Games to Beijing again when we know it won’t alter their policies is sending the message to China that their human rights abuses are no obstacle to prestige on the world stage,” Alistair Currie, Campaigns and Media Manager at Free Tibet, told The Speaker.
“Unlike in 2001, when China was an unknown quantity when it came to the Olympics, we now know how it responds to being awarded them. The IOC had hopes that the award may improve human rights in China. In reality, it did no such thing. Continued repression in China culminated in the brutal suppression of the March 2008 Uprising in Tibet, just a few months before the Games.
“China is far more confident on the world stage than it was 14 years ago but is on a backwards path when it comes to respect for human and civil rights. Now couldn’t be a worse time for giving China a gift like the Olympics Games.”
“Unlike in 2001, when China was an unknown quantity when it came to the Olympics, we now know how it responds to being awarded them.”
Currie elaborated on a focal area of ongoing human rights abuses in China, Tibet:
“In Tibet now, Tibetans face more intensive surveillance than ever before and China will use any indication of Tibetan pride and resistance to Beijing’s policies as a pretext for repression — including arbitrary detention and punitive sentences. Tibetans can be imprisoned for simply singing a song or peacefully protesting to protect their environment. Entire communities can be punished for the acts of one person and China doesn’t hesitate to use force — just last week, they fired upon a demonstration, leading to 25 people being admitted to hospital. China’s grip on Tibet is tightening. What we know for sure is that Tibetans will continue to resist China’s rule — and that means things could be worse by 2022.”
In addition to an online petition that has reached almost 10,000 signatures, Free Tibet recently joined 174 other rights groups and communicated with the Olympic Committee to question the propriety of awarding China another Olympics. Currie referred to the return letter from the IOC, in which the Olympic board stated, “Choosing the host city of the Olympic Games does not mean that the IOC necessarily agrees with the political and/or the legal system in the host country.”
“We must acknowledge that we have neither the mandate nor the capability to change the laws or the political system of a sovereign country,” the letter continued. “The IOC is neither a world government, nor a superior world parliament.”
However, Currie noted recent changes in Olympic policy following the Sochi Games in Russia last year. He also commented on a distinction he saw between the two 2022 candidates — both of which raise questions about human rights abuses and Olympic hosting rights.
“Now couldn’t be a worse time for giving China a gift like the Olympics Games.”
“Interestingly, they do say they should be aware of the “political implications” of their choice but the remainder of the letter suggests that that level of “consideration” is very limited. After Sochi, the IOC introduced measures in the Host City contracts to ensure no discrimination or, for instance, environmental destruction accompanies the Games themselves. These requirements don’t apply to the political system overall, however.
“The IOC is trying to insulate itself from any criticism or fallout from giving the Games to countries with political and human rights problems and there’s no surprise in that when both candidates for 2022 – Beijing and Almaty – fall into that category. One distinction with Almaty, however, is that it’s a small country and it remains possible that the award of the Games may bring about some positive change. That may not be the case of course, but in Beijing’s case, we know it won’t bring about positive change.”
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