On the Radar

The pick of the science news

Clock the calories in those TV ads

If you ate only foods endorsed by TV ads in the US, your diet would be way out of line with nutrition recommendations, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. An obvious statement perhaps, but the numbers are jawdropping.

A diet of items endorsed in the ads would provide 2,560 per cent of the recommended daily servings for sugars, 2,080 per cent for fat, 40 per cent for vegetables, 32 per cent for dairy, and 27 per cent for fruits.

Discovery may reduce fat cells

Scientists have identified a key factor involved in the development of fat cells.

The new research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that the protein Fbxw7 puts the brakes on the cascade of events that lead to fat cells maturing.

“The picture we have built of the role of Fbxw7 in energy and lipid metabolism suggests that it is a key regulator of this process,” said lead researcher Prof Johan Ericsson at University College Dublin’s Conway Institute.

“As such, it may impact on two very important health problems, type-II diabetes and obesity.”

590

The minimum distance, in kilometres (366 miles) that a male saltwater (estuarine) crocodile travelled across open ocean in 25 days, according to an Australian study in the Journal of Animal Ecologythat says crocs use ocean currents to help them on their journeys.