Online Class Notes (Vicki)

Many of us know that eating late is bad. A new study says that eating late at night could make us sick. Researchers say that eating a few hours before bed means there is a higher risk of obesity. The researchers are from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is a teaching university linked to Harvard Medical School in the USA. The research team looked into why eating late increased the risk of gaining weight. It found that eating late increases hunger by as much as two times, so we eat more. When we eat earlier, we are less hungry, so we eat less food. Later eaters also eat unhealthier food, especially fast food. Finally, late eaters move around less before sleeping. This means they do not burn off calories.

The study was a small scale one. The researchers looked at the eating habits of five women and 11 men between the ages of 25 and 59. All of the participants had a high body mass index (BMI). They were all in the overweight or obesity BMI range. All of the people were in good health. They ate breakfast regularly and exercised a little. For two weeks before each test, the participants did not drink coffee or alcohol. They also did not smoke or take any medicine or drugs. They all had to keep a sleep diary so researchers knew their sleeping and waking times. Researcher Professor Kelly C. Allison said: “I think what the study is telling us is that it probably really is beneficial to stop eating late into the night.”

Everyone knows that bees are busy. There is even a saying in English that one can be “as busy as a bee”. However, little is known about how bees play. Scientists have discovered one way that bees could relax after a busy day making honey – they play with balls. The scientists are from Queen Mary University of London. They did different tests on bees “playing” with different things. The insects particularly liked playing with small, wooden balls. The researchers said the way bees played was a little like how humans play. Younger bees rolled more balls than older bees, while adult males spent longer playing with balls than adult females. The ball-rolling bees are the first known insects to “play”.

The researchers experimented on 45 bumblebees in a specially designed test area. The bees were given two options. The first choice was to fly or walk directly to get a sugary treat. The second choice was to get to the treat by going around different coloured wooden balls. Most of the bees decided to play with the balls and then get their treat. A researcher said the experiments showed that bees are more thoughtful than people believed. She said: “Bees are a million miles from the mindless, unfeeling creatures they are traditionally believed to be.” She added that: “This research provides a strong indication that insect minds are far more sophisticated than we might imagine.”

Vocabulary

obesity – the illness of being too fat

calories – 卡路里

midnight snack – 夜宵

alcohol – 酒

body mass index (BMI) – an index used to measure our health using our weight and height

metabolism – 新陈代谢

conservative – 保守的

old-fashioned – 老旧的

vintage – 复古

mindless – no brain

creature – 生灵

sophisticated – more complex