High-Intensity-Interval-Training increases fat burning more than aerobic exercise. In fact, a few sessions of HIIT per week will turn your body into a fat-burning “machine.”
High-Intensity Interval Training Can Help Burn More Fat
“If that stubborn body fat isn’t going away, consider adding High-Intensity-Interval-Training or HIIT to your exercise routine,” says Professor Zeljko Pedisic.
HIIT increases fat burning more than aerobic exercise, finds a study that was recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
How was the study conducted?
For the study, researchers pooled results from 18 controlled intervention trials on the effects of HIIT on the rate of fat burning during exercise.
The intervention trials included a total of 511 adult participants who were engaged in either supervised HIIT, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or a non-exercising control group.
The duration of exercise interventions ranged from 2 to 14 weeks. In almost all of the studies, participants engaged in three HIIT sessions per week.
What are the key findings?
According to the research, a few sessions of HIIT per week will turn your body into a fat-burning “machine.” HIIT will make you start burning more fat not just during the HIIT sessions, but also during other types of physical activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, and playing sports.
Fat metabolism will improve after only four weeks of HIIT, and it will continue to improve over time.
After 12 weeks of HIIT, each minute of physical activity can be expected to burn an additional 0.13 grams of fat. For someone who engages in 150 minutes of physical activity per week, this could lead to around 10 kg (22 pounds) of additional fat burned in a decade.
According to the findings, overweight individuals may expect greater increases in fat burning, compared with “normal”-weight individuals.
While people could also improve their fat metabolism by engaging in aerobic exercise (e.g. jogging), this would require a much higher time commitment, and the improvements would be smaller.
They may also help billions of others to prevent unwanted weight gain over time.
Picture your 10-year older self with additional 22 pounds of body fat: HIIT may help you avoid such a change in the body composition.
“According to the recent Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends, HIIT is among the most popular types of workouts. If you are not already doing it, maybe you should give it a go,” concludes Professor Pedisic.
Reference: “Effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and sprint interval training (SIT) on fat oxidation during exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis” by Muhammed M Atakan, Yasemin Guzel, Nipun Shrestha, Sukran N Kosar, Jozo Grgic, Todd A Astorino, Huseyin H Turnagol and Zeljko Pedisic, 20 July 2022, British Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105181
When we look at a certain color, we make associations with certain objects, emotions. It has long been believed that the yellow bouquet is a sign of hatred, but where do these prejudices come from and is the yellow color in bouquets so dangerous? Let’s debunk the myths. What do yellow flowers symbolize? When we talk about yellow, the first thing that comes to mind is the sun, and also gold, wheat ears, autumn leaf, candle flame. According to visual sensations – the color is warm. The emotions associated with it are positive. As you can see, there is nothing sinister about it. And yet, someone’s perception of a yellow flower as a “harbinger of separation” should not become a lifelong stigma. It is not fair that an innocent flower should receive this stamp!
So, whether you believe these canons or not, see more to whom and for what reason you can give yellow flowers READ HERE!
A bouquet of yellow flowers for a loved one was given as a gift and what does this mean? There are many beliefs and stereotypes to which we become loyal worshippers, and alas, we do not even know who invented such canons and for what purpose.
Interestingly, many people believe that the color yellow symbolizes separation, betrayal, hatred, but the truth is that it is a cliché, which unfortunately has long since become a stereotype.
What do yellow flowers symbolize?
Regarding the language of flowers, not only the generally accepted meaning is taken into account, but also the plant itself.
We associate the yellow shade with warmth and sunshine, because spring flowers are mostly yellow. They come with the onset of the first warm days and bring us shock doses of joy, happiness, trust, care and love, after the long winter.
As a color familiar to us from autumn, yellow represents wisdom, family well-being, health and mature love.
If we associate yellow with gold, it speaks of wealth, prosperity, success, ambition and intelligence.
And yet, yellow bouquets are associated with problems in love. Where this comes from, see now:
What is the relationship with the breakup?
The skeptical perception of bouquets in yellow originates from pagan times. For example, the Slavs associated dark yellow with jealousy, betrayal, envy, fickleness. The golden yellow was thought to evoke nobility and dignity, it was also taken to symbolize divinity and the sun.
Yellow roses
Roses symbolize friendship and happiness. They are sunny in color. If you present such a bouquet to your chosen one, it means that you demonstrate a desire to take care of her and admire her. The rose itself is an emblem of mature love and a prosperous family life.
Who to give yellow roses to:
Birthday friends and relatives.
For a married couple’s wedding anniversary.
To people with creative professions, for example Artists.
You can also give yellow roses to a beloved woman. They are a great way to ask for forgiveness or offer a fresh start.
Sun tulips
They are positive flowers, they bring happiness that is embedded in the bud. They are given to lovers and are a hint of tender feelings, a wish for luck, a greeting for an important date.
Who to gift to:
Girl on first date.
Sister, mother, grandmother, colleague, friend, teacher for March 8.
To demonstrate friendship, respect, add blue irises to tulips
Autumn chrysanthemums
In the Eastern world, chrysanthemums are a symbol of wealth, strength, health and longevity. Single-headed golden chrysanthemums given to a girl or soulmate mean reverent love, a desire to always be there.
Who to gift to:
Boss, business partner, colleague.
Teacher, teacher.
Beloved woman.
Such chrysanthemums look great in combination with other flowers or alone.
Golden gerbera
Yellow gerberas are a flower of happiness. They are like a big “chamomile” and outwardly resemble the sun. They emit light, warmth and create a feeling of kindness. It’s a universal gift. Gerbera is also commonly known as the African daisy.
Who to gift to:
They are suitable for any occasion and person for whom you have friendly feelings.
Yellow callа
Calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica, commonly known as calla lily and arum lily) is a benchmark for majestic beauty and grace. The flower is full of charm, charm and looks solemn. It is considered a talisman of family happiness and represents success and wealth.
Who to gift to:
To a beloved woman with a marriage proposal.
To a spouse.
For an anniversary.
Flowers for the beloved
As you have already learned, yellow flowers are not a threat. They can be given as a gift to anyone who loves sunny bouquets. Still, if you think your girlfriend will misinterpret the bouquet, accompany it with warm words of tenderness and acknowledgment.
Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities
In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all.
The SDGs also explicitly include disability and persons with disabilities 11 times. Disability is referenced in multiple parts of the SDGs, specifically in the parts related to education, growth and employment, inequality, accessibility of human settlements, as well as data collection and the monitoring of the SDGs.
Although, the word “disability” is not cited directly in all goals, the goals are indeed relevant to ensure the inclusion and development of persons with disabilities.
The newly implemented 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development holds a deep promise for persons with disabilities everywhere.
The year 2016 marks the first year of the implementation of the SDGs. At this critical point, #Envision2030 will work to promote the mainstreaming of disability and the implementation of the SDGs throughout its 15-year lifespan with objectives to:
Raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs for persons with disabilities;
Promote an active dialogue among stakeholders on the SDGs with a view to create a better world for persons with disabilities; and
Establish an ongoing live web resource on each SDG and disability.
The campaign invites all interested parties in sharing their vision of the world in 2030 to be inclusive of persons with disabilities.
Please forward your comments, suggestions, references and/or new information on the SDGs and persons with disabilities to [email protected] or follow us @UNEnable on Facebook and Twitter and use hashtag #Envision2030 to join the global conversation and help create a world in 2030 that is fully inclusive of persons with disabilities.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images show the stark difference between August 2021 and August 2022 on the Rhine River near Cologne.
Water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s second-largest river, have continued to due to soaring temperatures and lack of rainfall. The low water levels are preventing many vessels from navigating through the waters at full capacity. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured satellite images of part of the Rhine River near Cologne. They show the stark difference between August 2021 and August 2022.
Flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, the Rhine River is an important shipping route for many products from grains to chemicals to coal. When water levels drop, cargo vessels need to sail with reduced load, so they don’t run aground.
Rhine River on August 25, 2021. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Water levels at the chokepoint of Kaub, near Frankfurt, fell to 32 cm (13 inches) in depth on Monday, down from 42 cm (17 inches) last week. Ships, however, need around 1.5 m (5 feet) to be able to sail fully loaded. This means that current levels are making it difficult for larger ships to navigate through the waters. Freight ships continue to sail, but only with around 25% to 35% of the ship’s capacity.
The low water levels are emerging earlier than usual, with the lowest water levels typically recorded in September or October. However, reduced temperatures and predicted rainfall forecasted for this week may offer much-needed relief to the Rhine.
Rhine River on August 12, 2022. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The phenomenon facing the Rhine is common across much of Europe after an unusually hot and dry summer, which caused wildfires and water shortages.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites capture high-resolution imagery that provide information about the conditions on Earth, such as plant life, soil, and coastal areas. The mission consists of two satellites both of which carry an innovative multispectral imager – a camera that captures optical images over a range of wavelengths beyond visible light.
Be a peacemaker to be worthy to be called a son of God. – St. Ephraim the Syrian (25, 197).
The Savior gratified the peacemakers and announced that they would become sons of God, firstly, those who are at peace with themselves and do not start a rebellion, but stop internal warfare by subordinating the body to the spirit, establishing peace in others, living in discord and with themselves, and together.
No one has the right to point out to another what he himself does not have. Therefore, I marvel at the incomparable generosity of God’s love for mankind. The Lord promises good rewards not only for Labor and shedding of sweat, but also for a certain kind of pleasure, since above all that makes us happy is peace, and without it (when it is broken by war) nothing brings joy.
It is beautifully said: the peacemakers “will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Since He Himself, as the true Son, pacified everything, making people an instrument of virtue, united the heavenly with the earthly, rightly said that those who do the same, if possible, will be awarded the same name and elevated to the dignity of sonship, which is the highest limit. bliss. – St. Isidore Pelusiot (52, 86).
Let us honor the gift of the Reconciliator-peace, the gift that, leaving the earth. He left us (John 14:27) as a kind of parting pledge. We will know only one scolding, scolding with opposing force. …Let’s yield in a different smallness in order to get in return the most important thing, that is, unanimity. Let us grant victory over ourselves so that we can also win. Look at the regulations of the competitions and the exploits of the wrestlers:
with them often the one lying below triumphs over those that were above. And we will imitate them… – St. Gregory the Theologian (18, 244).
(Apostle) Paul says: “Doing good, let us not lose heart” (Gal. 6, 9). This is what we do in domestic affairs: when two people quarrel among themselves, taking each aside, we give them opposite advice. So did God, so did Moses, who said to God: “Forgive them their sin, and if not, then blot me out of your book” (Ex. 32, 32). And he commanded the Israelites to kill each other, not even sparing their relatives. Although these actions are opposite to each other, both tend to the same goal. Saint John Chrysostom (41, 391).
“And shod his feet in readiness to proclaim peace” (Eph. 6:15). Pay attention to the fact that this is how he called a certain strength of the soul, because with our feet we go out to the One Who says: “I am the way” (John 14, 6), and we must put on them in readiness to preach the gospel of the world. – Blessed Jerome. Creations, book. 17 Kyiv, 1903, p. 383.
The holy elders told us such a case. One monk came from Skete to visit his fathers, who lived in a place called Cells, where many monks lived in separate cells. Since at that time there was no free cell in which he could stay, one of the elders, who had another cell, unoccupied, provided it to the guest. Many of the brethren began to visit the wanderer, because he had the spiritual grace to teach the word of God. The old man, who provided him with a cell, saw this and was stung with envy. He became indignant and said: “I have been living in this place for so long, but the brethren do not come to me, except very rarely, and then on holidays, but many brethren come to this flatterer almost daily.” Then he gave this order to his disciple: “Go tell him to leave the cell, because I need it.” The disciple, having come to the wanderer, said to him: “My Father sent me to your shrine: he heard that you were sick.” He thanked and asked the elder to pray to God for him, because he suffered greatly from stomach pains. The disciple, returning to the elder, said: “He asks your shrine to bear him for two days, during which he could find a cell for himself.” After three days, the elder again sent the disciple to the wanderer: “Go tell him to leave my cell. The disciple went to the wanderer and said: “My father was very concerned when he heard about your illness; he sent me to find out if you feel better?” He asked to convey: “Thank you, holy lord, your love! You took care of me so much! Through your prayers, I feel better.” The disciple, returning, said to his elder: “And now he asks your shrine to wait until Sunday; then he will leave immediately.” Sunday came and the wanderer calmly remained in his cell. The elder, inflamed with envy and anger, grabbed the staff and went to beat the wanderer out of the cell. Seeing this, the disciple went up to the elder and said to him: “If you command, I will go ahead and see if the brethren have come to him, who, seeing you, may be offended.” Having received permission, the disciple went ahead and, entering the wanderer, said to him: “Behold, my father is coming to visit you. Hasten to meet him and thank him, because he does this out of great goodness of heart and love for you.” The skier immediately got up and, in joyful spirit, went to meet him. Seeing the elder, before he approached, he fell on the ground before him, offering worship and thanksgiving: “May the Lord reward you, beloved father, with eternal blessings for your cell, which you provided me for the sake of His name! May Christ the Lord prepare for you in heavenly Jerusalem, among His saints, a glorious and bright abode! The elder, hearing this, was touched by his heart and, throwing the rod, rushed into the arms of the wanderer. They kissed each other in the Lord, and the elder invited the guest to his cell to eat food together while giving thanks to God. In private, the elder asked his disciple: “Tell me, my son, did you convey to your brother those words that I ordered to convey to him?” Then the disciple confessed: “I will tell you, master, the truth: due to my devotion to you, father and master, I did not dare to tell him what you ordered, and did not convey a single one of your words.” The elder, hearing this, fell at the feet of the disciple and said: “From this day on, you are my father, and I am your disciple, because Christ delivered both My soul and the soul of my brother from the sinful network through your prudence and actions filled with the fear of God. and love”. The Lord gave His grace, and they all dwelt in the peace of Christ, delivered by faith, holy care, and good intention of the disciple. Loving his elder with a perfect love for “Christ, he was very afraid that his spiritual father, carried away by the passion of envy and anger, would fall into a transgression that would destroy all his labors, taken upon himself from his youth in the service of Christ for the sake of Eternal Life. – „Otechnik” ( 82, 430-432).
A scanning electron microscopy image of a Kamptozoa, a small aquatic invertebrate. Credit: Dr. Natalia Shunatova. Credit: Dr. Natalia Shunatova
Research suggests that the Kamptozoa and Bryozoa phyla split sooner than previously believed.
Kamptozoa and Bryozoa are two phyla of small aquatic invertebrates. They are related to snails and clams (mollusks), bristle worms, earthworms, and leeches (annelids), as well as ribbon worms (nemertea). Evolutionary biologists have long been baffled by their exact place on the tree of life and how closely linked these other species are to them. Previous research regularly shifted their place around.
Furthermore, despite the fact that Kamptozoa and Bryozoa were once thought to belong in one group, they were later separated due to their appearance and anatomy. Now, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), working with associates from St. Petersburg University and Tsukuba University, have demonstrated that the two phyla split from mollusks and worms earlier than previous studies had suggested, and thus they do in fact form a distinct group. This discovery was made possible by the use of cutting-edge sequencing technology and powerful computational analysis.
“We’ve shown that by using high-quality transcriptomic data we can answer a long-standing question to the best of our current techniques,” said Dr. Konstantin Khalturin, Staff Scientist in OIST’s Marine Genomics Unit and first author of the paper published in Science Advances.
Dr. Konstantin Khalturin and Professor Nori Satoh are two of the researchers involved in this study. Credit: OIST
A genome is the full set of genetic information found in every cell. It is subdivided into genes. These genes are made up of DNA base pairs and each gene contains the instructions needed to create a protein and thus leads to the proper care and maintenance of a cell. For the instructions to be carried out, the DNA must first be transcribed into RNA. A transcriptome is the result of this, like the reflection of a genome but written in RNA base pairs rather than DNA.
This genetic information differs among species. Those who are closely related have very similar genetic information, while a greater evolutionary distance results in more genetic differences. By using this data, researchers have improved our knowledge of animal evolution, but some questions still prove difficult to answer.
As Kamptozoa and Bryozoa are closely related to mollusks, annelids, and nemertea, small mistakes in the dataset, or missing data, can result in an incorrect placement on the evolutionary tree. Furthermore, while collecting these tiny animals, it’s easy to pick up other organisms, such as algae, that contaminate the sample. Dr. Khalturin highlighted that they were careful to avoid contamination and later screened their dataset for RNA of algae and small animals to remove any that might have come from them.
The evolutionary relationships of Kamptozoa and Bryozoa and their place on the tree of life have been revealed in this new study. The study found that they split from mollusks and worms earlier than expected and that they are part of a distinct group, called Polyzo. Credit: OIST
In total, the researchers sequenced the transcriptome of four species of Kamptozoa and two species of Bryozoa, but to a far higher quality level than had previously been achieved. While past datasets had completeness of 20-60%, in this study, the transcriptome completeness was over 96%.
Using these transcriptomes, they predicted proteins and compared them to similar data of 31 other species, some of which were closely related to Kamptozoa and Bryozoa, such as clams and bristle worms, and others that were more distant, such as frogs, starfish, insects, and jellyfish. The high-quality datasets meant that they could compare many different genes and proteins simultaneously. Dr. Khalturin credited the powerful computational capabilities that the researchers could access at OIST.
“Our main finding is that the two phyla belong together,” said Dr. Khalturin. “This result was originally proposed in the 19th century by biologists who were grouping animals based on what they looked like.”
While Dr. Khalturin stated that this question had now been answered to the best ability available, he also highlighted that the dataset could answer other fundamental evolutionary questions—such as the more precise location of mollusks and annelids on the tree of life, and how life diversified.
Reference: “Polyzoa is back: The effect of complete gene sets on the placement of Ectoprocta and Entoproc” by Konstantin Khalturin, Natalia Shunatova, Sergei Shchenkov, Yasunori Sasakura, Mayumi Kawamitsu and Noriyuki Satoh, 1 July 2022, Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo4400
That’s an incredible song. It’s good folk music, with everything that makes it what folk should be. A Cajun / Irish diatonic accordion far in the back, a strong Celtic dancing rhythm, and more than everything, a real crunchy voice that does not fear expressing the soul meaning of what it needs to express.
And what does it need to express? That’s the trick. The song is not a funny one. It’s sad. Sad, but with no compromission with fluffy feelings. It talks about a friend who took his life running “out of sins”, and it’s made in a way that you know there is something personal in the song, with strong emotion but enough rock ‘n’ roll attitude to make it a wonderful piece of poetry. Geoff (the friend) is dancing tonight, and is now a ghost haunting the singer’s nights. Well, I don’t feel good enough to forward you the strong poetry of the song and I’m sure you’ll get it better when you’ll listen to it.
Bobby Cameron
Scot Robinson, songwriter of this track, and Bobby Cameron, who sings and plays the guitar, have made this amazing track under the name of Scot Free Sessions. For the project, they brought together good musicians: Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan) on drums and James LoMenzo (John Fogerty, Ozzy Osbourne) on bass. And that works well, very well.
Scot has been the winner of the 2021 International Songwriting Competition’s Lyric Category, one of the most prestigious songwriting contests in the world regularly receiving over 20,000 entries each year from over 125 countries. Among the judges for the competition were Tom Waits, Coldplay and Hozier. And man, those folks do have sure taste! I do too. Everything in that song is aligned to deliver the message. I’m not talking about any “intellectual” message, I’m talking about the deep soul message that every good song in the world delivers to the one listening to it. The “magical” message, whatever it is. The core reason why we listen to music.
Some songs are perfect. Not because you can’t do better, but because you don’t need to do better. That’s one of these songs.
Well, I guess it’s time for you to decide for yourself if I’m being wide of the mark or if I may be right, at least for once. Listen buddy:
And of course, you should listen to my whole indie-folk playlist as you will find gems every day:
Helping to transform the lives of victims of terrorism in Iraq at a three-day psychosocial workshop implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Lebanese Association of Victims of Terrorism (LVA).
Erbil (Iraq), 19 August 2022 – “I was leaving school with a friend and we were waiting for the bus. A few minutes later, I remember thinking I was dead. I saw blood everywhere, dead bodies, and body parts.“
Azok’s* testimony is just one of the many horrors shared by Iraqi survivors of terrorism during a three-day psychosocial workshop implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Lebanese Association for Victims of Terrorism (AVT-L). The harrowing accounts detailed the bereavement, physical injuries, and emotional and psychological traumas experienced after a terror attack. He recounted: “It was only after a while that I understood what had happened. I was living a nightmare and I don’t know how I survived. I had more than 70 fragments in my body and I still suffer from it.”
Before this workshop, most of these 18 victims, eight of whom were female, had had no recourse to psychotherapeutic care that would help them with their recovery process after a terrorist attack.
Mental health care can sometimes be harder to come by than physical medical attention for victims of traumas like terrorist attacks. To take one example, a young participant at the workshop had lost her leg. While she had received a prosthesis, she lacked the skills to cope with her grief, lack of self-confidence, and degraded self-image.
While there is no single pattern of response or recovery for victims of terrorism, they must be supported psychologically to overcome their trauma and develop resilience, learn how to manage their feelings during criminal proceedings, and be empowered to use their experience to spread a message of peace against terrorism.
With this goal in mind, different therapeutic methods, such as art therapy; discussion, writing and mindfulness groups; and individual psychological care were provided to the victims in the workshop. These sessions encouraged them to express their emotions and psychological issues, giving them a sense of self, community, and connectedness.
The inner emotional release and transformation of these participants soon became evident. The group’s oldest member said: “I’ve been waiting 16 years for this moment. This is the first time someone has asked me how I am, the first time someone has given me time, listened to me, respected me, and helped me see things differently.”
Azok began to trust his own mental and emotional strength again as well: “It’s the first time I’m in front of someone who cares about me”, he noted. “It’s the first time I’ve revealed my weaknesses because, in front of others, I have to show myself as the strong, the protector, the powerful one”.
The workshop was held in Erbil, Iraq on 29-30 May 2022, under a project called “Supporting victims of terrorism within the criminal justice framework, including psychological support”, funded by the Netherlands. Five other workshops will be held in 2023. They will address the victims’ participation in criminal proceedings and their legal representation, the role of the media during such criminal proceedings, as well as victim’s compensation and reparation mechanisms within the Iraqi legal and criminal justice system.
Further information
If you wish to learn more about UNODC’s work on supporting victims of terrorism before, during and after criminal proceedings and on promoting their psychosocial rehabilitation process, please click here.
____________________________ *Name changed to protect privacy
More than two million nights of sleep and blood pressure were examined by the researchers.
Inconsistencies in sleep time and length were linked to a higher risk of hypertension, according to a study that examined more than two million nights of sleep and blood pressure data.
According to the findings, a 9% to 15% higher risk of hypertension was linked to high sleep duration irregularity. Furthermore, a 38-minute increase in sleep midpoint irregularity was linked with an 11% risk increase, while a 31-minute increase in sleep start time irregularity was associated with a 29% risk increase.
“This new approach to noninvasive nightly monitoring of sleep duration and timing in people’s homes for an average period of six months each combined with regular blood pressure monitoring has shown us just how important having a regular sleep routine and getting enough sleep is for your health, in this case, your heart health,” said lead author Hannah Scott, who has a doctorate in sleep health and is a sleep health research associate at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health (AISH), Flinders University.
“These novel data shed new light on the restorative benefits of sleep and raise potential concerns for the substantial proportion of shift workers in our modern 24-hour society.”
12,300 volunteers aged 18 to 90 provided data during a nine-month period, which the researchers then analyzed. A portable blood pressure monitor and an under-mattress sleep device were used to capture the metrics. The standard deviation of total sleep time was used to determine the regularity of the sleep duration. Similarly, the standard deviation in sleep onset time and sleep midpoint was used to determine the regularity of sleep timing.
Logistic regressions controlling for age, sex, body mass index, and average total sleep time were conducted to investigate potential associations between sleep regularity and hypertension, which was found in 2,499 participants.
“These new insights into the potential adverse impact of irregular sleep timing and duration on heart health further highlight the importance of the role synchronizing the body clock and prioritizing enough sleep opportunity for optimal health and wellbeing,” said senior author Danny Eckert, who has a doctorate in sleep and respiratory physiology and is professor and director of AISH.
The researchers noted that prior studies of sleep and heart health have been limited in sample size and restricted to a short period of time. The current study investigated associations between sleep regularity and hypertension in a large, global sample over multiple months.
Reference: “0204 Sleep Irregularity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Hypertension: Data From Over Two Million Nights” by Hannah Scott, Bastien Lechat, Amy Reynolds, Nicole Lovato, Pierre Escourrou, Peter Catcheside and Danny Eckert, 25 May 2022, SLEEP. DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac079.202
This was an unfunded investigator-initiated study. Deidentified data were provided by Withings for unrestricted investigator-led analysis. One of the co-authors serves as a consultant for Withings.
New 3D model shows that megalodon could eat prey the size of entire killer whales. Credit: J. J. Giraldo
Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, is famous for its gigantic, human-hand-sized teeth. However, there is little fossil evidence of its whole body. International researchers in collaboration with the University of Zurich used an exceptionally preserved specimen to create a 3D computer model of its full body. According to their results, the megalodon could fully consume prey the size of today’s killer whales and then roam the seas without more food for two months.
The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters (52 feet) long and weighed over 61 tons. It was estimated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second (3.1 mph), required over 98,000 kilo calories every day, and had a stomach volume of almost 10,000 liters. These results suggest that the megalodon could travel long distances and was capable of eating whole prey up to 8 meters (26 feet) long. Notably, this is the size of modern killer whales, today’s top ocean predator. An ability to eat large apex predators of comparable size millions of years ago places megalodon at a higher trophic level than modern top predators.
The reconstructed megadolon (Otodus megalodon) was 16 meters long and weighed over 61 tons. It was estimated that it could swim at around 1.4 meters per second. Credit: J. J. Giraldo
Well-preserved spine enables reconstruction
These are the findings of an international study carried out in collaboration with the University of Zurich and published on August 17 in Science Advances. The research was only possible due to the 3D modeling of one individual megalodon which was discovered in the 1860s. Against all odds, a sizeable portion of its vertebral column was left behind in the fossil record after the creature died in the Miocene oceans of Belgium about 18 million years ago. It is estimated that it was 46 years old when it died.
“These results suggest that this giant shark was a trans-oceanic super-apex predator.” — Catalina Pimiento
“Shark teeth are common fossils because of their hard composition which allows them to remain well preserved,” says first author Jack Cooper, PhD student at Swansea University. “However, their skeletons are made of cartilage, so they rarely fossilize. The megalodon vertebral column from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is, therefore, a one-of-a-kind fossil.”
From single vertebra to whole body mass
The research team, which includes researchers from Switzerland, the UK, the United States, Australia, and South Africa, first measured and scanned every single vertebra, before reconstructing the entire column. Next, they attached the column to a 3D scan of a megalodon’s dentition from the United States. Finally, they completed the model by adding “flesh” around the skeleton using a 3D scan of the body of a great white shark from South Africa.
“Weight is one of the most important traits of any animal. For extinct animals we can estimate the body mass with modern 3D digital modeling methods and then establish the relationship between mass and other biological properties such as speed and energy usage,” says co-author John Hutchinson, professor at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK.
A trans-oceanic super-apex predator
The high energetic demand would have been met by feeding on the calorie-rich blubber of whales, in which megalodon bite marks have previously been found in the fossil record. An optimal foraging model of potential megalodon prey encounters found that eating a single 8-meter-long (26-foot-long) whale may have allowed the shark to swim thousands of miles across oceans without eating again for two months.
“These results suggest that this giant shark was a trans-oceanic super-apex predator,” says Catalina Pimiento, Professor at the University of Zurich and senior author of the study. “The extinction of this iconic giant shark likely impacted global nutrient transport and released large cetaceans from a strong predatory pressure.”
The complete 3D model can now be used as a basis for future reconstructions and further research. The novel biological inferences drawn from this research represent a leap in our knowledge of this singular super predator. The study helps to better understand the ecological function that megafaunal species play in marine ecosystems and the large-scale consequences of their extinction.
Reference: “The extinct shark Otodus megalodon was a transoceanic superpredator: Inferences from 3D modeling” by Jack A. Cooper, John R. Hutchinson, David C. Bernvi, Geremy Cliff, Rory P. Wilson, Matt L. Dicken, Jan Menzel, Stephen Wroe, Jeanette Pirlo and Catalina Pimiento, 17 August 2022, Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm9424
