The ‘blue dragon' is back from the brink
Millions of years ago, Grand Cayman Island rose from the depths of the Caribbean Sea, and in the same epoch, its shores became home to giant blue reptiles. Fast forward to today, and with its spiny crest, prehistoric features and striking blue scales, the Grand Cayman blue iguana appears to have lumbered out of a lost world.
Endemic to Grand Cayman, the biggest of the Cayman Islands, the impressive reptile holds the title of the island's largest native land animal. But it was only in 2004 that they were officially declared a species, after being differentiated from their cousins, the Cuban Iguana.
Blue iguanas were once ubiquitous on the island, however the arrival of humans, and the invasive predators that came with them, brought deadly threats. Habitat loss, hunting and a wave of feral cats and dogs pushed the lizards, referred to as 'blue dragons,' to the brink of extinction. In the early 1990s, researchers estimated there were between 100 and 200 blue iguanas surviving in the wild. But within a decade, those numbers had plummeted, with fewer than 25 individuals remaining in 2002.
Thanks to ongoing conservation efforts, the blue iguana is back from the brink of extinction. Through captive breeding and a habitat protection program, over 1,200 have now been released into the wild, primarily in protected areas. This led to the species being reclassified from "critically endangered" to "endangered" in 2012, according to IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.
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CNN
19 minutes ago
- CNN
3 myths about metabolism could be holding you back
EDITOR'S NOTE: The podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life's mysteries big and small. You can listen to episodes here. (CNN)— Think speeding up your metabolism is key to losing weight? Metabolism has grown into one of the biggest buzzwords in the wellness industry — a tricky code that, if deciphered, is believed to unlock the secrets of weight loss and overall health. Despite the term's ubiquity, one scientist says many people don't understand much of how this basic bodily process works. 'They think it has something to do with how much food we can eat without gaining weight or something like that,' Dr. Kevin Hall told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently on his podcast, Chasing Life. Hall wants to elevate metabolism for different reasons. 'Metabolism is just this incredible biochemical process that basically turns the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe into essentially … everything we are and everything we do,' he said. A leading nutrition and metabolism scientist, Hall is well-known for his research on contestants from the reality show 'The Biggest Loser' that helped explain what set participants who kept the weight off apart from those who gained it back. He spent more than two decades at the National Institutes of Health. His later work on ultraprocessed foods investigated its link to obesity, including one study that demonstrated it actively caused participants to overeat. Hall announced his early retirement and exit from NIH in April, citing censorship of how his research findings were communicated. He's now coauthor of the new book 'Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us' alongside journalist Julia Belluz. Metabolism and weight loss enter conversations arm in arm, but this, according to Hall, can be reductive. 'I just find it incredibly frustrating sometimes that this idea of metabolism, this really beautiful physiological process that is so fundamental to life, is kind of talked about as, 'Oh well, if you take this supplement, you can boost your metabolism and lose weight,'' he explained to Gupta. You can listen to the full episode here. Is a faster or higher metabolism really the highway to weight loss? Hall is here to set the record straight, highlighting three misconceptions about metabolism that show there is more to it than meets the eye. One common belief is that a slower metabolism results in a higher body weight. But mostly, Hall said, the opposite is true. 'Generally, larger people have faster metabolisms than smaller people,' he told Gupta. Hall attributed the pervasiveness of this myth to the way researchers designed early metabolism studies. Scientists initially tried to match up participants' caloric intake to their weight, but they didn't account for the fact that these calorie counts were self-reported. It turned out that those with obesity often underreported the number of calories they ate to a larger degree than their leaner counterparts. This, Hall said, 'led people to a conclusion that, well, if they're eating less calories and they're maintaining their weight, then they must be burning less calories. And maybe the reason why they have obesity is because they have slow metabolisms.' Modern technology now allows researchers to rely on data, not participants' own reports. 'When we actually directly measure people's metabolisms, people with obesity have higher metabolic rates on average than people who are lean,' Hall noted. But the myth that we should be boosting metabolism to treat obesity has stubbornly persisted — and has at times led to deadly consequences. When Stanford University researchers discovered that the chemical compound 2,4-dinitrophenol, or DNP, increased metabolism levels in the 1930s, they enthusiastically promoted it as a safe and effective tool for treating obesity. While DNP did boost metabolism, it also led to side effects that included blindness and death, causing federal drug regulators to quickly withdraw it from the market. 'Maybe,' Hall suggested, 'it shouldn't be too much of a surprise later to realize that with something so fundamentally important to life as metabolism, you can't just turn it up and turn it down with a pharmaceutical drug and not expect some pretty severe side effects, including death.' Like weight, age might not affect metabolism as much as you may assume. 'It turns out that until you get to very advanced ages, we're talking 70s and 80s, it looks like our metabolic rate is roughly constant,' Hall said. There are, of course, changes in the aging body that can impact metabolic rates. People 'past the age of 30 or so,' Hall said, are 'tending to lose muscle mass or tending to lose lean mass, and they're tending to gain fat mass. And that alone is anticipated to result in a lower metabolism.' That's because lean muscle burns more calories than fat. But it's these age-related changes — that are not inevitable — and not age itself, that influence one's metabolism. 'Once you get rid of that effect … it doesn't seem like there's a fundamental aging effect to slow metabolism as, as we get older,' Hall concluded. A couple ways to combat the loss of lean muscle mass as you age is by engaging in twice-a-week strength training and getting enough protein in your diet (but no need to go overboard). Another pillar of metabolism mythology is the idea that a slow metabolism is the enemy of continued weight loss. Interventions such as dieting are believed to slow metabolism to the point that you can't lose any additional weight. But keeping your metabolism from slowing down isn't the key to sustained weight loss, Hall said. In fact, it's just the opposite. 'The people who are most successful at losing weight and keeping it off are the ones who sport the slowest metabolisms or the greatest reductions in metabolism,' he said. 'It's kind of like stretching a spring, right?' The more intensely someone diets or exercises, the more weight they'll lose and the more their metabolism will slow down, he explained in his book. Hall's research showed that a slower metabolism 'didn't seem to determine anyone's ability to lose weight or keep it off in the short or long run.' By uncoupling metabolism from the weight loss conversation, Hall said he hopes everyone can appreciate the phenomenon for what it really is. Misinformation about metabolism 'has really distracted people, I think, from the real beauty of what this is,' he told Gupta. 'It's harnessing the continuous flow of matter and energy in our food and in our breath and powering every cell in our body, as well as the bodies and cells of practically every organism that we have ever encountered,' Hall said. 'It's a fundamental component of life, and it's just incredibly fascinating.' We hope these three insights help you understand your metabolism better. Listen to the full episode here. And join us next week for a new episode of Chasing Life.
CNN
20 minutes ago
- CNN
3 myths about metabolism could be holding you back
EDITOR'S NOTE: The podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life's mysteries big and small. You can listen to episodes here. (CNN)— Think speeding up your metabolism is key to losing weight? Metabolism has grown into one of the biggest buzzwords in the wellness industry — a tricky code that, if deciphered, is believed to unlock the secrets of weight loss and overall health. Despite the term's ubiquity, one scientist says many people don't understand much of how this basic bodily process works. 'They think it has something to do with how much food we can eat without gaining weight or something like that,' Dr. Kevin Hall told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently on his podcast, Chasing Life. Hall wants to elevate metabolism for different reasons. 'Metabolism is just this incredible biochemical process that basically turns the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe into essentially … everything we are and everything we do,' he said. A leading nutrition and metabolism scientist, Hall is well-known for his research on contestants from the reality show 'The Biggest Loser' that helped explain what set participants who kept the weight off apart from those who gained it back. He spent more than two decades at the National Institutes of Health. His later work on ultraprocessed foods investigated its link to obesity, including one study that demonstrated it actively caused participants to overeat. Hall announced his early retirement and exit from NIH in April, citing censorship of how his research findings were communicated. He's now coauthor of the new book 'Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us' alongside journalist Julia Belluz. Metabolism and weight loss enter conversations arm in arm, but this, according to Hall, can be reductive. 'I just find it incredibly frustrating sometimes that this idea of metabolism, this really beautiful physiological process that is so fundamental to life, is kind of talked about as, 'Oh well, if you take this supplement, you can boost your metabolism and lose weight,'' he explained to Gupta. You can listen to the full episode here. Is a faster or higher metabolism really the highway to weight loss? Hall is here to set the record straight, highlighting three misconceptions about metabolism that show there is more to it than meets the eye. One common belief is that a slower metabolism results in a higher body weight. But mostly, Hall said, the opposite is true. 'Generally, larger people have faster metabolisms than smaller people,' he told Gupta. Hall attributed the pervasiveness of this myth to the way researchers designed early metabolism studies. Scientists initially tried to match up participants' caloric intake to their weight, but they didn't account for the fact that these calorie counts were self-reported. It turned out that those with obesity often underreported the number of calories they ate to a larger degree than their leaner counterparts. This, Hall said, 'led people to a conclusion that, well, if they're eating less calories and they're maintaining their weight, then they must be burning less calories. And maybe the reason why they have obesity is because they have slow metabolisms.' Modern technology now allows researchers to rely on data, not participants' own reports. 'When we actually directly measure people's metabolisms, people with obesity have higher metabolic rates on average than people who are lean,' Hall noted. But the myth that we should be boosting metabolism to treat obesity has stubbornly persisted — and has at times led to deadly consequences. When Stanford University researchers discovered that the chemical compound 2,4-dinitrophenol, or DNP, increased metabolism levels in the 1930s, they enthusiastically promoted it as a safe and effective tool for treating obesity. While DNP did boost metabolism, it also led to side effects that included blindness and death, causing federal drug regulators to quickly withdraw it from the market. 'Maybe,' Hall suggested, 'it shouldn't be too much of a surprise later to realize that with something so fundamentally important to life as metabolism, you can't just turn it up and turn it down with a pharmaceutical drug and not expect some pretty severe side effects, including death.' Like weight, age might not affect metabolism as much as you may assume. 'It turns out that until you get to very advanced ages, we're talking 70s and 80s, it looks like our metabolic rate is roughly constant,' Hall said. There are, of course, changes in the aging body that can impact metabolic rates. People 'past the age of 30 or so,' Hall said, are 'tending to lose muscle mass or tending to lose lean mass, and they're tending to gain fat mass. And that alone is anticipated to result in a lower metabolism.' That's because lean muscle burns more calories than fat. But it's these age-related changes — that are not inevitable — and not age itself, that influence one's metabolism. 'Once you get rid of that effect … it doesn't seem like there's a fundamental aging effect to slow metabolism as, as we get older,' Hall concluded. A couple ways to combat the loss of lean muscle mass as you age is by engaging in twice-a-week strength training and getting enough protein in your diet (but no need to go overboard). Another pillar of metabolism mythology is the idea that a slow metabolism is the enemy of continued weight loss. Interventions such as dieting are believed to slow metabolism to the point that you can't lose any additional weight. But keeping your metabolism from slowing down isn't the key to sustained weight loss, Hall said. In fact, it's just the opposite. 'The people who are most successful at losing weight and keeping it off are the ones who sport the slowest metabolisms or the greatest reductions in metabolism,' he said. 'It's kind of like stretching a spring, right?' The more intensely someone diets or exercises, the more weight they'll lose and the more their metabolism will slow down, he explained in his book. Hall's research showed that a slower metabolism 'didn't seem to determine anyone's ability to lose weight or keep it off in the short or long run.' By uncoupling metabolism from the weight loss conversation, Hall said he hopes everyone can appreciate the phenomenon for what it really is. Misinformation about metabolism 'has really distracted people, I think, from the real beauty of what this is,' he told Gupta. 'It's harnessing the continuous flow of matter and energy in our food and in our breath and powering every cell in our body, as well as the bodies and cells of practically every organism that we have ever encountered,' Hall said. 'It's a fundamental component of life, and it's just incredibly fascinating.' We hope these three insights help you understand your metabolism better. Listen to the full episode here. And join us next week for a new episode of Chasing Life.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Rare Barbary lion cubs born at Czech zoo are part of a plan to return the breed to the wild. See photos of their public debut.
Four Barbary lion cubs recently made their public debut at a Czech zoo that's working to eventually reintroduce the breed to its native habitat decades after it went extinct in the wild. The three females and one male were seen playing in their outdoor enclosure at Dvůr Králové Safari Park on Wednesday, enjoying themselves under the watchful eyes of their parents, Khalila and Bart. The cubs were born in early January and were first spotted out in the lion pavilion in April. But their home will change soon. As part of an international endangered species program that coordinates efforts for their survival in captivity, the cubs will be sent to other participating parks, including the Beersheba zoo in Israel. Chances are that might not be the end of the story for the animal. Dvůr Králové Deputy Director Jaroslav Hyjánek said that while preliminary steps have been taken for a possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural habitat, it's still a "far distant future." The majestic member of the Northern lion subspecies, the Barbary lion once roamed freely its native northern Africa, including the Atlas Mountains. A symbol of strength, they were almost completely wiped out due to human activities. Many were killed by gladiators in Roman times, while overhunting and a loss of habitat contributed to their extinction later. The last known photo of a wild lion was taken in 1925, while the last individual was killed in 1942. It's believed the last small populations went extinct in the wild in the middle of the 1960s. Fewer than 200 Barbary lions are currently estimated to live in captivity. These aren't the first Barbary cubs to be born at the Dvůr Králové Safari Park. Two cubs were born in July 2021, three in July 2020 and two in May 2019, all to mom Khalila who made her debut at the zoo in 2018. The licensed breeding of the lions is "guided by the recommendations of the coordinator of the European Conservation Programme" on suitable mates and where to place cubs for the highest possible genetic diversity, the park said. "These steps are crucial for the survival of the species in the future," the zoo said. Hyjánek said that after initial talks with Moroccan authorities, who have not rejected the idea of their reintroduction, a conference of experts has been planned to take place in Morocco late this year or early 2026 to decide whether it would make sense to go ahead with such a plan in one of the national parks in the Atlas Mountains. Any reintroduction would face numerous bureaucratic and other obstacles. Since the lion has not been present in the environment for such a long time, the plans would have to ensure their protection, a sufficient prey population and cooperation and approval from local communities. Hyjánek said such a move is still worth trying if it turns out to be sustainable. "It's important to have such a vision for any animal," he said. "Without it, the existence of zoos wouldn't make sense."
