diet

The easiest diet secret

Produce, especially the veggie variety, is a dieter’s best friend. When people eat veggies with a meal, they consume a full 20 percent fewer calories overall — and still feel satisfied afterward, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals.

I know that all that chopping and cooking feels like a drag, but it’s easier than you think to work in five cups of the fresh stuff a day.

At breakfast, have a fruit “smush” made with a medley of fresh berries and yogurt (the lean protein fills me up). Then, at lunch, have a great big salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, peas or whatever your favorite veggies are. Add grilled chicken or another lean protein to hold off afternoon hunger.

Start dinner with a veggie-packed soup, like minestrone, and make a side dish that you love (I’m a big fan of steamed spinach with a little salt). I also love ratatouille (especially in summer), but if you don’t have time for that, heat up some frozen veggies and sprinkle them with Parmesan or lemon juice for an easy, delicious, healthy side. My favorite brand of frozen veggies is from Cascadian Farm.

Or consider making a whole meal out of veggies! Check out these great vegetarian dishes from a recent issue of SELF. I guarantee that the eggplant cannelloni will be a hit at the dinner table tonight.

63光年外行星證實有甲烷

63光年外行星證實有甲烷　可能出現生命型態 (法新社) 03月 20日 星期四 03:05PM

（法新社巴黎十九日電） 天文學家今天宣佈，他們偵測到一顆距地球六十三光年遠星球的大氣層中，存在甲烷氣體，太陽系以外的星球上出現生命型態的機率，因而大為增加。



研究團隊也證實，先前對這顆編號HD189733b行星的猜測無誤，HD189733b的大氣層中的確有水分子。

　　研究結果發表在英國週刊「自然」。美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）噴射推進實驗室（JPL）的天文學家，利用哈伯望遠鏡，取得HD189733b的大氣層紅外線分光特性分析。哈伯望遠鏡由美國與歐洲太空總署共同打造，目前在太空繞行地球軌道。

　　HD189733b的光譜圖，讓人類得以一窺這顆行星的成份，並將內含的化學物質「驗明正身」。

　　他們發現甲烷存在的確切特徵。甲烷是一種碳氫分子化合物，在某些條件下，對形成生命的條件具有關鍵作用。

　　這種情況下，HD189733b上出現生命的可能性，幾乎不成問題。

　　這顆坐落於狐狸星座中的行星，屬於一種名為「熱木星」的大行星。熱木星這種大行星的表面焦灼，幾乎不可能會有水氣。

　　不過，重要的是，在HD189733b發現了甲烷。

　　JPL的研究團隊，使用哈伯望遠鏡威力強大的NICMOS光譜成像照相機，在去年五月、HD189733b行星與繞行恆星及地球連成一線時，拍下照片。

　　恆星透射的光線穿越HD189733b行星的大氣層，與此同時表露出HD189733b的化學特徵。不過，研究人員的主要任務，是在各種幅射波長中，找到所需資料。

　　這次的觀測任務，也證實水分子的存在。NASA的史匹哲太空望遠鏡先前獲得的資料曾顯示，這顆行星可能有水分子。

　　美國亞利桑那大學行星科學家修曼發表評論表示，這項天文成就是探索太陽系外星象的不凡進步。

the world's glaciers are in rapid retreat

Melting glaciers
Glaciers are in retreat. When they have gone, rivers will not flow, sea levels with rise, and millions will die from famine or 'water wars', experts warn


HIMALAYA: The Gangotri glacier, source of the Ganges river, is in rapid retreat. Water specialists say that 360 million people depend on it


ALASKA: The US Geological Survey found that in Alaska 99% or higher of glaciers are 'retreating or stagnating'


SWITZERLAND: The Aletsch glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. A survey last year reported that, since the 1850s, glaciers in the region had declined by 35% in 1970 and by 50% in 2000.


SWITZERLAND: Another view of the Aletsch glacier. The UN Environment Programme report found that European glaciers retreated by a further 5-10% in the hot year of 2003 alone


NEW ZEALAND: glaciers have roughly halved in size in the past century


PAKISTAN: Ice melts on the Hopar glacier. In Pakistan 50% of agricultural land is irrigated by the Indus, which the WWF highlighted last year as one of the world's 10 big at-risk rivers because retreating glaciers provide 70-80% of its flow


PAKISTAN, KHUNJERAB PASS: Himalayan glaciers feed the Yangtse, Mekong, Yellow, Indus and Ganges rivers. A billion people may be dependent on them


PATAGONIA: The UNEP reports 'considerable' shrinking of medium and small glaciers in central Chile and Argentina, accompanied by 'drastic retreat' of glaciers further south in Patagonia

wildlife

March 13 2008: From jellyfish so delicate they could be harmed by a bubble, to ultra-rare hippos and selfish ants, this week's selection of conservation and wildlife pictures from around the world


Budapest, Hungary: an animal keeper feeds moon jellyfish with a syringe containing brine shrimp. The body of the moon jellyfish, found in tropical waters, is 95% water. Keeping these animals is very difficult: their bodies are fragile and can be harmed even by bubbles of air. Because of this and the difficulties of reproducing oceanic conditions in the zoo, the moon jellyfish must be fed individually


Svalbard, Norway: a young husky pup. It will soon be old enough to used as a sled dog


Gloucestershire, UK: a female great bustard spotted feeding in a field near Oldbury power station. The great bustard is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and was regarded as extinct on the British Isles


Wabash, Canada: four cats avoid the snow


Lexington, US: a mare and her foal run through the falling snow on Shadwell farm


Leipzig, Germany: a Hungarian pointer yawns during the fitting of a fleece jumper at Germany's first custom tailor shop for dogs


Liberia: the elusive and endangered pygmy hippopotamus, which has managed to survive two civil wars and habitat destruction. One of the most secretive large mammals, the pygmy hippo is rarely seen in the wild but was caught on camera in the country's national park


Ayutthaya, Thailand: elephants eat fruits during a feeding ceremony. Sixty-nine tamed elephants took part at the ceremony sponsored by local businessmen to celebrate national elephant day


Cumbria, UK: a flock of oyster catchers fly over breaking waves between Allonby and Silloth


Sydney, Australia: a keeper holds a green tree frog in his hand. It is currently year of the frog. Australian zoos are to join a global programme to save endangered frogs


Budapest, Hungary: Jorek, a one-year-old, 150kg polar bear cub, stands on his hind legs after a swim in his new home in Animal Park


A queen ant and a worker ant. Ants may be held up as models of social cooperation, but research this week suggests they can be as corrupt and selfish as human beings. The insects have always been thought to work together for the benefit of the colony rather than for individual gain. But scientists have discovered that some ants are able to cheat the system, ensuring their offspring become reproductive queens rather than sterile workers


London, UK: Sir David Attenborough with a giant atlas moth. Attenborough is launching a pioneering project that will help to reverse a 76% decline in the UK's butterfly species


Sichuan, China: a baby panda at the Chengdu research base for giant panda breeding

butterflies

The plight of the British butterfly

British butterflies are under threat. Sir David Attenborough this week announced the construction of Butterfly World, a haven for butterflies. Attenborough said more than three-quarters of British butterfly species have declined in the past 20 years


The white letter hairstreak has shown a severe decline in range and abundance