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Tuesday, February 3, 2026
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Are you too lazy to exercise well Nestle brings you “Exercise in a Bottle” solution

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Health experts have long recommended engaging in physical activities, but many people do not exercise. Swiss food company Nestlé, however, appears to have found a solution to this dilemma with the “exercise in a bottle.”

The world’s largest food company said that research conducted by scientists from the Nestlé Institute of Health suggest that food and nutritional products may soon be able to provide some of the beneficial effects of exercise on the body’s metabolism and this could particularly benefit physically inactive individuals such as those with disability and disease as well as the elderly whose physical conditions prevent them from having an active lifestyle.

In the study “Mechanism of Action of Compound-13: An α1-Selective Small Molecule Activator of AMPK,” which was published in the Journal Chemistry & Biology on Nov. 24, Kei Sakamoto, from the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues found that an enzyme that regulates metabolism and control how the body burns sugars and fats, can be controlled by a compound called C13.

In experiments involving mice, the compound C13 acts on the enzyme called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to stop the liver from producing fat.

“The enzyme can help people who can’t tolerate or continue rigorous exercise,” Sakamoto said. “Instead of 20 minutes of jogging or 40 minutes of cycling, it may help boost metabolism with moderate exercise like brisk walking.”

The researchers said that the findings of the study could possibly lead to the development of products that can help individuals suffering from metabolic disorder such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as pave way to products that can augment the effects of exercise.

The development of such products can bring good news for those living a sedentary lifestyle. The researchers, however, cautioned that no product can replace exercise. Sakamoto said that given the number of effects that exercise offers, no single product can mimic all those effects.

Microscopic Aliens

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While our curiosity of aliens still goes unsatiated as we look for signs in radio transmissions and the sky, aliens may already be here. Perhaps not as how we imagined, but in the form of microscopic outer-space particles captured by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft over ten years ago and delivered to Earth in 2006.

A research team lead by Andrew Westphal, physicist with UC Berkeley took eight years to locate and study the interstellar bits. The research was also significantly aided by volunteers who were citizen scientists. On Thursday, Westphal and his colleagues including the volunteers announced that the particles were not from our solar system and probably got here through the explosion of a star. They also suggested that they were more than a hundred million years old.

“This dust is relatively new, since the lifetime of interstellar dust is only 50 to 100 million years, so we are sampling our contemporary galaxy,” said UC Berkeley research physicist Anna Butterworth

“A critical aspect of this was the dedication and hard work of the citizen scientists who worked on this,” Westphal said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.” Even though the team can not say with complete certainty that the particles are from interstellar space, it is the likely possibility since they were collected from the right direction – the direction of the interstellar wind.
Once the particles pass certain tests, like the oxygen isotope analysis, scientists can begin a mass collection that will span the varieties of dust from outer-space and perhaps reveal much more to us regarding alien worlds.

Microscopic Aliens

By Leave a Comment

While our curiosity of aliens still goes unsatiated as we look for signs in radio transmissions and the sky, aliens may already be here. Perhaps not as how we imagined, but in the form of microscopic outer-space particles captured by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft over ten years ago and delivered to Earth in 2006.

A research team lead by Andrew Westphal, physicist with UC Berkeley took eight years to locate and study the interstellar bits. The research was also significantly aided by volunteers who were citizen scientists. On Thursday, Westphal and his colleagues including the volunteers announced that the particles were not from our solar system and probably got here through the explosion of a star. They also suggested that they were more than a hundred million years old.

“This dust is relatively new, since the lifetime of interstellar dust is only 50 to 100 million years, so we are sampling our contemporary galaxy,” said UC Berkeley research physicist Anna Butterworth

“A critical aspect of this was the dedication and hard work of the citizen scientists who worked on this,” Westphal said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.” Even though the team can not say with complete certainty that the particles are from interstellar space, it is the likely possibility since they were collected from the right direction – the direction of the interstellar wind.
Once the particles pass certain tests, like the oxygen isotope analysis, scientists can begin a mass collection that will span the varieties of dust from outer-space and perhaps reveal much more to us regarding alien worlds

Syrian Rebels Poised To Leave The Old City Of Homs

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After a negotiated pullout from Homs, the last group Syrian rebels is also poised to leave the city for good, said the provincial governor.

Governor Talal al-Barazi told AFP, “The third and final convoy of the day is about to leave. Earlier today, 200 rebels were evacuated. There are another 500 people who are about to be evacuated. The whole operation has been smooth.”

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The rebels had held the city of Homs under siege for two years and this is the first time their withdrawal from the city centre has been actuated.

Approximately 980 people, including rebels and a few civilians, left the Old City on the day 1 of the UN-supervised evacuation. The evacuees have been transported to an opposition-held town of Dar al-Kabira, which is 20 kilometres (13 miles) to the north. This operation leaves all rebel groups confined to a single district.

Barazi expects to have a similar evacuation agreement for Waer too.

He said, “In Waer, things will be easier and in the coming weeks new deals will be announced to restore security.”

The Syrian government has allowed the remaining rebels in Homs to release dozens of hostages and prisoners held by opposition fighters.

This is not first deal between the rebels and the Syrian government, the past saw many agreements foiled, but finally the rebel fighters have conceded to withdraw from an area they forcefully controlled, under a settlement with the government.

Toyota Nearing Record Profit

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Toyota Motor Corp increased its forecast for annual profit on Wednesday, closing in on new records that had been set prior to the financial crisis thanks to a weaker yen and growing sales in the U.S. car market that helped boost earnings sharply.

The bestselling automaker in the world now says it expects a net profit of $16.95 (1.67 trillion yen) billion for its fiscal year ending March 2014, compared to its forecast previously of 1.48 trillion yen.

That would put it just short of its previous record of 1.72 trillion yen in net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2008. That compares to an average forecast by analysts of 1.79 trillion yen.

The Japanese carmaker is the most reliant on exports amongst the three biggest automakers in Japan. It has benefited from the weakening yen that helped boost profits both from its exports and from the conversion of money earned overseas back into its local currency.

The automaker also increased its sales forecast for the U.S. from 2.61 million vehicles to 2.63 million, which will help offset a fall in its sales in Asia that it forecast to be 1.64 million after an original amount of 1.70 million.

The consolidated sales total globally, excluding sales in China, was not changed from its original 9.1 million.

Sales in Thailand were very weak, dropping by 30% during the quarter from ending September 30, as the market began to slow after incentives for first time clients ended in 2013. Thailand is the fourth largest market for Toyota on a per country basis.

Toyota increased its annual outlook for capital expenditure by 2% to 940 billion yen, which was close to 4% of overall revenue. It also kept its forecasted expenses for R&D the same at 900 billion yen.

During the quarter ending September 30, the largest carmaker in the world said its net profit increased by 70%, which was in line with Wall Street analysts.

Its net profit for the quarter was higher than rivals Nissan and Honda, the second and third largest Japanese carmakers respectively.

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