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42 news posts in Frontiers in Nutrition

Neuroscience

28 Mar 2022

Most read articles of February 2022: Does life really flash before our eyes before death?

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers Science Communications Manager Image: Shutterstock.com Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of February. A replay of life: What happens in our brain when we die? Imagine reliving your entire life in the space of seconds. Like a flash of lightning, you are outside of your body, watching memorable moments you lived through. This process, known as ‘life recall’, can be similar to what it’s like to have a near-death experience. What happens inside your brain during these experiences and after death are questions that have puzzled neuroscientists for centuries. However, a new study published to Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience suggests that your brain may remain active and coordinated during and even after the transition to death, and be programmed to orchestrate the whole ordeal. Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.813531/full 2. Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study A long-term ‘UK Biobank’ study on almost 400,000 people published to Frontiers in Nutrition found little or no evidence that differences in the amount of consumed cooked or […]

Psychology

28 Feb 2022

Origins of life and plastic invasions: The most viewed Frontiers news articles of January 2022

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: DisobeyArt/Shutterstock.com Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of January. Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’ Life on Earth arose roughly 4bn years ago. How it arose, and from what energy source is of interest to everyone because we humans like to know where we come from. The team of Prof William Martin at the University Düsseldorf’s Institute of Molecular Evolution investigates early evolution. In a recent paper in Frontiers in Microbiology, they argue that the source of energy required at life’s origin has been hiding in plain sight: under the environmental conditions at deep sea hydrothermal vents, hypothesized to have been the sites where life on Earth originated, the central biosynthetic reactions of life do not require an external energy source. Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.793664/full 2. How do we define a well-lived life? First scientific evidence helps us get closer to an answer A transition, such as the beginning of a new year or entering the second half of life, […]

Featured news

21 Feb 2022

Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer A long-term ‘UK Biobank’ study on almost 400,000 people finds little or no evidence that differences in the amount of consumed cooked or uncooked vegetables affects the risk of cardiovascular disease. When known socio-economic and lifestyle confounding factors are corrected for, the small apparent positive effect that remains could likely also be explained away by further confounders. A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this. That the consumption of vegetables might lower the risk of CVD might at first sight seem plausible, as their ingredients such as carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol have properties that could protect against CVD. But so far, the evidence from previous studies for an overall effect of vegetable consumption on CVD has been inconsistent. Now, new results from a powerful, large-scale new study in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that a higher consumption of cooked or […]

Featured news

23 Aug 2019

The fat of the land: estimating the ecological costs of overeating

Overeating is bad for our planet’s health, not just our own. Image: shutterstock. Overeating wastes far more food than we throw away, suggests research — by Matthew Prior, Frontiers science writer With every unfinished meal since Band Aid, you’ve heard it: “people are starving in Africa, y’know”. True, the UN estimates that rich countries throw away nearly as much food as the entire net production of sub-Saharan Africa – about 230 million tonnes per year. But is it any less a waste to eat the excess food? Morally, it’s equivocal. Nutritionally, it depends. However: the land, water and carbon footprints are just the same. In fact, researchers in Italy have proposed a way to measure the ecological impact of global food wastage due to excessive consumption. First, they estimated the net excess bodyweight of each country’s population – based on BMI and height data – and distributed its energy content among foods groups according to national availability. Published in Frontiers in Nutrition, the results suggest that direct food waste – thrown away or lost from field to fork – is a mere hors-d’œuvre. Metabolic Food Waste and Ecological Impact of Obesity in FAO World’s Region► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) […]

Frontiers news

19 Mar 2019

Open access is the dream for any scientist says Mauro Serafini, Chief Editor of Nutritional Epidemiology

“I live for science and research has always been a fascinating driving force in my career. I am moved by the importance of developing key research in human nutrition, to improve daily life, extend longevity and to raise the importance of crucial factors like nutrition for well-being,” says Mauro Serafini, Specialty Chief Editor of Nutritional Epidemiology. Across the world, life expectancy is on the rise but what about our quality of life? Degenerative diseases and pre-pathological conditions stemming from an imbalanced and uninformed approach to food remains a global challenge. Mauro Serafini The link between obesity and disease is well-established, however with childhood obesity in developed countries on the rise, Serafini tells us that a new approach is needed. “We need to define dietary patterns and tailor sustainable diets to individual needs to reduce the detrimental role of food as a primary risk factor for chronic disease.” The journal’s expansion into Nutritional Epidemiology will enable researchers to access cutting-edge research freely. Authors benefit from a wide dissemination of their research to international communities of fellow scholars, policy-makers, industry experts and the public. “Open access is the ‘dream’ for any scientist…The scientific community will benefit from a free circulation of the […]