Health & Science

A free diet trick that really works

The most effective way to lose weight, a new study says, isn’t by taking pills or adopting extreme diets. It’s by drinking water before meals. Nutrition researchers at Virginia Tech found that subjects who drank 16 ounces—or about two glasses—of water before each of their three daily meals lost 50 percent more weight than control subjects did. The study volunteers, 48 overweight and obese men and women, were put on a low-calorie diet for 12 weeks. Half were given no instructions about what to drink; half were instructed to drink two glasses of water shortly before their meals. The first group lost 11 pounds on average, but the water group lost more—15.5 pounds on average. Notably, the diet itself seems to stick: A year after the study, the water drinkers had continued the regimen on their own and lost additional weight. Scientists aren’t sure why this works, but they do know water is filling, has no calories, and may take the place of other high-calorie drinks that might be consumed. “It’s a simple way to facilitate weight management,” study author Brenda Davy tells Scientific American. She suggests that dieters drink from a refillable water bottle throughout the day, in addition to their pre-meal infusions.

A new way to exploit sunlight

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A new, highly efficient form of chlorophyll has been discovered that could enable solar cells to convert more sunlight into energy. Chlorophyll is the pigment that enables plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms to convert light into energy; the four previously known types absorb light in the visible range from blue to red. The new molecule, called chlorophyll f, absorbs light in the red and infrared part of the spectrum. The pigment was discovered in colonies of cyanobacteria—single-celled, algae-like bacteria—in Australia. The adaptation probably enables the organisms to conduct photosynthesis while living underneath other photosynthesizers that use up the other spectra of light. The finding could be a boon to makers of photovoltaic panels, who have been looking for ways to extend the range of light usable for generating electricity. “Nature can use such simple modification of chlorophyll to acquire more sunlight,” molecular biologist and study author Min Chen tells Science News. “Why can we not learn from it?”

He’s small, but he’s loud

A tiny frog the size of a pea has been discovered in Borneo, calling attention to itself with a mating call befitting a much larger creature. Less than half an inch long, the newly discovered species of frog lives in and around pitcher plants on the Southeast Asian island, and their tadpoles grow in the liquid that collects inside the plant. Every night, the male frogs gather around the plant, cheeping to impress potential mates. “We knew the calls of all frogs in the

area, and this was different,” herpetologist Indraneil Das tells the East Malaysia Daily Express. “I had to trap the frog in one of my baby son’s clean white diapers in order to really see what it looked like, it was so tiny.” The frogs are the second-smallest in the world; only a species in Cuba is smaller.

The oldest fashion crime

Today, wearing socks with sandals is considered a fashion crime. But the look wasn’t dorky to ancient Romans. A major dig led by British archaeologists in North Yorkshire uncovered the remnants of a Roman sandal that had fibers on it, suggesting a “sock-type garment,” says team leader Blaise Vyner. Evidence of the socks also turned up at the site in 14 graves, which probably belonged to Roman legionnaires. If the legionnaires had worn socks with their sandals in Britain, Vyner tells the London Daily Telegraph, it’s also likely they wore them in Rome—at least for part of the year. “You don’t imagine Romans in socks, but I am sure they would have been pretty keen to get hold of some as soon as autumn came along.”

The downside of doing good

You’d think that people who are relentlessly altruistic and demonstrate unselfish generosity at all times would impress their fellow human beings. But a new Washington State University study says do-gooders are often regarded with suspicion and resentment. In the study, a team of undergraduates played a computer game in which they could win a bonus, depending on the number of points earned as a team; individuals could boost their team’s scores by sacrificing free meal vouchers. Not surprisingly, nobody wanted to play again with those who’d played most greedily. But they were just as repelled by the prospect of playing again with the team members who’d played most generously on behalf of the team. What’s not to like about a true team player? Their co-workers either feared they were being shown up by comparison, or suspected the do-gooder of ulterior motives. “They frequently said ‘the person is making me look bad’ or breaking the rules,” study co-author Craig Parks tells Wired Science. Most people believe it’s natural to be at least a little selfish, Parks says, so do-gooders are viewed “as deviant rule breakers.”