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Al Etihad
a day ago
- Science
- Al Etihad
Ancient bread rises again as Turkiye unearths, then recreates 5,000-year-old loaf
1 June 2025 11:37 ESKISEHIR, TURKIYE (AFP)In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in central more than 5,000 years later, archaeologists have unearthed it, and helped a local bakery to recreate the recipe -- with customers lining up to buy and flat like a pancake, 12 centimetres in diameter, the bread was discovered during excavations at Kulluoba, a site near the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir."This is the oldest baked bread to have come to light during an excavation, and it has largely been able to preserve its shape," said Murat Turkteki, archaeologist and director of the excavation."Bread is a rare find during an excavation. Usually, you only find crumbs," he told AFP."But here, it was preserved because it had been burnt and buried," he bread was charred and buried under the entrance of a dwelling built around 3,300 BC.A piece had been torn off, before the bread was burnt, then buried when the house was in September 2024, the charred bread has been on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum since Wednesday."We were very moved by this discovery. Talking to our excavation director, I wondered if we could reproduce this bread," said the city's mayor, Ayse showed that the bread was made with coarsely ground emmer flour, an ancient variety of wheat, and lentil seeds, with the leaf of an as yet undetermined plant used as emmer seeds no longer exist in get as close as possible to the original recipe, the municipality, after analysing the ancient bread, decided to use Kavilca wheat, a variety that is close to ancient emmer, as well as bulgur and lentils. At the Halk Ekmek bakery, promoted by the municipality to offer low-cost bread, employees have been shaping 300 loaves of Kulluoba by hand every day. "The combination of ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread," said Serap Guler, the bakery's first Kulluoba loaves, marketed as 300-gramme cakes that cost around $1.28, sold out within hours. The rediscovery of the bread has sparked interest in the cultivation of ancient wheats better adapted to drought. The mayor wants to revive the cultivation of Kavilca wheat in the region, which is resistant to drought and disease.
Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
How social media can 'trigger' eating disorders in young people
Research has shown the percentage of people worldwide who have had some kind of eating disorder during their lives rose from 3.5% in 2000 to 7.8% in 2018, a timeframe that captures the rise of social media. For the professionals trying to help teenagers recover from these disorders, misinformation from influencers on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram is a huge problem. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Social media can push vulnerable young people towards developing eating disorders by glorifying thinness and promoting fake, dangerous advice about diet and nutrition, experts women and girls are much more likely to suffer from illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, though rates among men have been has shown the percentage of people worldwide who have had some kind of eating disorder during their lives rose from 3.5% in 2000 to 7.8% in 2018, a timeframe that captures the rise of social the professionals trying to help teenagers recover from these disorders, misinformation from influencers on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram is a huge problem."We no longer treat an eating disorder without also addressing social media use," French dietitian and nutritionist Carole Copti told AFP."It has become a trigger, definitely an accelerator and an obstacle to recovery," she causes of eating disorders are complex, with psychological, genetic, environmental and social factors all having the potential to make someone more media "is not the cause but the straw that may break the camel's back," said Nathalie Godart, a psychiatrist for children and adolescents at the Student Health Foundation of promoting thinness, strictly controlled diets and relentless exercise, social media weakens already vulnerable people and "amplifies the threat" to their health, she told one recent example is the #skinnytok trend, a hashtag on TikTok full of dangerous and guilt-inducing advice encouraging people to drastically reduce how much food they Charlyne Buigues, a French nurse specialising in eating disorders, social media serves as a gateway to these problems, which are "normalised" condemned videos showing young girls with anorexia exposing their malnourished bodies -- or others with bulimia demonstrating their "purges"."Taking laxatives or vomiting are presented as a perfectly legitimate way to lose weight, when actually they increase the risk of cardiac arrest," Buigues disorders can damage the heart, cause infertility and other health problems, and have been linked to suicidal has the highest rate of death of any psychiatric disease, research has found. Eating disorders are also the second leading cause of premature death among 15- to 24-year-olds in France, according to the country's health insurance media creates a "vicious cycle," Copti said."People suffering from eating disorders often have low self-esteem. But by exposing their thinness from having anorexia on social media, they gain followers, views, likes... and this will perpetuate their problems and prolong their denial," she can especially be the case when the content earns spoke of a young woman who regularly records herself throwing up live on TikTok and who had "explained that she was paid by the platform and uses that money to buy groceries".Social media also makes recovering from eating disorders "more difficult, more complicated and take longer", Copti is partly because young people tend to believe the misleading or fake diet advice that proliferates said consultations with her patients can feel like she is facing a trial."I have to constantly justify myself and fight to make them understand that no, it is not possible to have a healthy diet eating only 1,000 calories -- that is half what they need -- or that no, it is not normal to skip meals," she said."The patients are completely indoctrinated -- and my 45-minute weekly consultation is no match for spending hours every day on TikTok," she warned about the rise of people posing as "pseudo-coaches", sharing incorrect, "absurd" and potentially illegal nutrition advice."These influencers carry far more weight than institutions. We're constantly struggling to get simple messages across about nutrition," she said, pointing out that there are lifelines available for those in takes it upon herself to regularly report problematic content on Instagram, but said it "serves no purpose"."The content remains online and the accounts are rarely suspended -- it's very tiring," she nurse has even advised her patients to delete their social media accounts, particularly TikTok."It may seem radical but until young people are better informed, the app is too dangerous," she said.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Airline chiefs gather in Delhi amid US policy fears, travel slump, and rising global tensions
Airline bosses are convening in New Delhi amidst concerns over Donald Trump's policies, which have negatively impacted travel to the US and potentially increased aviation costs. Protectionist measures and geopolitical tensions are creating uncertainty, affecting traffic and profitability projections. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Putting up the 'closed' sign Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Lower energy costs Airline bosses meet from Sunday in New Delhi at their annual industry conference, battling to mitigate the impact of Donald Trump's policies that have hit travel to the United States and potentially raised costs for bid to impose tariffs on the United States' trading partners have upended commercial flows, with legal challenges against his plan adding to tense atmosphere in the United States, from Trump's plans to revoke foreign students' visas to reports of travellers detained at US borders, has also put a dampener on tourism."The airline sector is always sensitive to the economic and political climate," Paul Chiambaretto, professor of strategy and marketing at France's Montpellier Business School, told AFP."Any form of uncertainty will reduce traffic," he added, noting that "especially" impacted business travellers, the most profitable influential International Air Transport Association (IATA) is due to update its traffic and profitability projections as the delegates from the group gathering 350 airlines hold their December it forecast a record 5.2 billion air journeys in 2025 -- up 6.7 percent from an already unprecedented 2024. It predicted carriers would generate $36.6 billion in cumulative net profit, on revenue exceeding $1 the US president's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz and his administration's stance on issues from immigration to education could throw a spanner in the early as March, the North American air transport market, which represents 23 percent of global traffic, began to decline and several US-based airlines warned they would not meet their financial targets.A study released this month by the World Travel and Tourism Council and Oxford Economics found that the United States was on track to lose some $12.5 billion in revenue from foreign tourists this year owing to worries about travelling to the group, made up of leading travel firms, said this "represents a direct blow to the US economy overall, impacting communities, jobs, and businesses from coast to coast"."While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the US government is putting up the 'closed' sign," WTTC president Julia Simpson Brechemier, an airline industry expert at Roland Berger, said: "Today, bookings for the North Atlantic are lower than they were at the same time last year."IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted on Thursday "some signs of fragility of consumer and business confidence with continued weakness in the US domestic market and a sharp fall in North American premium class travel".Air transport has for decades benefited from the removal of import taxes, rising living standards -- particularly in Asia -- and open borders, with the number of air trips tripling since the return of protectionism is endangering the industrial model of aircraft manufacturers, whose assembly lines mobilise suppliers worldwide, with costs likely to increase, putting more of a burden on good news for carriers, though, with oil prices falling owing to an anticipated slowdown in economic could help firms reduce their fuel bills -- representing between a quarter and a third of their operational costs -- by hundreds of millions of new Republican administration is also fully supporting the development of fossil fuels, in contrast to that of Democratic former president Joe Biden, who subsidised Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).Sustainable development "has largely disappeared from the airline industry's immediate priorities", says Jerome Bouchard, a partner at consultants Oliver likely on the agenda for IATA will be the impact of geopolitical tensions on the is experiencing explosive growth, with the number of airports and passengers in the world's most populous nation doubling over the past decade, while major airlines IndiGo and Air India have hundreds of aircraft on the country's recent deadly spat with neighbour Pakistan, which saw the two sides impose airspace bans on each other, highlighted the fragility of civil aviation in the face of such row poses an additional complication for connections to Asia, as Russia has banned US and EU aircraft overflights in retaliation for sanctions linked to its invasion of Ukraine.
Daily Tribune
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
India restricts some imports from Bangladesh through land ports
India's commerce ministry announced restrictions on some imports from Bangladesh via its land borders, prompting fears for the South Asian country's export-reliant economy. New Delhi announced late Saturday that ready-made garments from Bangladesh cannot be imported through land borders, while some other goods -- including cotton, processed foods and wooden funiture -- have been barred from at least six entry points in northeast India. The announcement came a month after Bangladesh banned yarn imports from New Delhi through the same land routes. The latest move is a 'big threat', Bangladeshi conglomerate Pran-RFL Group, which exports around $60 million of goods annually to India, told AFP. 'India is the largest market for Pran-RFL Group's processed foods, plastic products, furniture, and PVC-finished goods,' director Kamruzzaman Kamal said. 'With the latest restrictions, almost every category of our products are getting affected. This is a big threat for the company and the country as well,' Kamal said, urging a bilateral solution with India. The textile industry would be temporarily affected by the move, said Rakibul Alam Chowdhury of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mohammad Hatem also denounced the tit-for-tat move by New Delhi, adding that border trade would 'face a blow'. However, he believed that garment exporters 'will be able to cover up the impact'. The government i n Dhaka told AFP it had not been officially informed of the latest restrictions. 'We haven't received any official copy of notification. Once we get the documents and then we can come up with our decision after going through it,' said Ministry of Commerce advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin. Bangladesh imported around $9 billion worth of goods from India in the last 10 months of the 2024 financial year, while exports to India stood at $1.51 billion, according to Bangladesh Bank and Export Promotion Bureau data. At the start of April, India cancelled a 2020 transshipment deal that allowed Bangladesh to export cargo to third countries via Indian land borders.
Al Etihad
19-05-2025
- Health
- Al Etihad
Polar bear biopsies to shed light on Arctic pollutants
19 May 2025 13:55 NORWAY (AFP)A pioneering research mission in Norway's Svalbard archipelago is studying the impact of pollutants in the Arctic, with scientists taking fat tissue biopsies from sedated polar bears to conduct their expedition comes at a time when the Arctic region is warming at four times the global average, putting mounting pressure on the iconic predators as their sea-ice habitat shrinks.'The idea is to show as accurately as possible how the bears live in the wild -- but in a lab,' Laura Pirard, a Belgian toxicologist, told AFP.'To do this, we take their (fatty) tissue, cut it in very thin slices and expose it to the stresses on their face, in other words pollutants and stress hormones,' said Pirard, who developed the sedate the bears, the researchers travel by helicopter, and fire tranquiliser darts. Moments after a sedated bear collapses, a chopper lands in the ice and researchers step out to collect the tissue and draw blood. Each sample is sealed and labelled before the bear is fitted with a satellite said that while the study monitors all the bears, only females are tracked with GPS collars as their necks are smaller than their heads -- unlike males, who cannot keep a collar on for more than a few minutes. Analysis of the fat samples thus far shows that the main pollutants present are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -- synthetic chemicals used in industry and consumer goods that linger in the environment for decades. Despite years of exposure, Svalbard's polar bears showed no signs of emaciation or ill health, according to the local population has remained stable or even increased slightly, unlike parts of Canada, where the Western Hudson Bay group declined by 27 percent between 2016 and 2021, from 842 to 618 bears, according to a government aerial populations in the Canadian Arctic, including the Southern Beaufort Sea, have also shown long-term declines linked to reduced pre-access and longer ice-free estimate there are around 300 polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, and roughly 2,000 in the broader region stretching from the North Pole to the Barents team has found no direct link between sea ice loss and higher concentrations of pollutants in Svalbard's bears. Instead, differences in pollutant levels came down to the bears' types of bears -- sedentary and pelagic -- feed on different prey, leading to different chemicals building up in their bodies. Changing dietWith reduced sea ice, the bears' diets have already started shifting, researchers said. These behavioral adaptations appeared to help maintain the population's health. 'They still hunt seals but they also take reindeer (and) eggs. They even eat grass (seaweed), even though that has no energy for them,' Jon Aars, the head of the Svalbard polar bear programme, told AFP.'If they have very little sea ice, they necessarily need to be on land,' he said, adding that they spend 'much more time on land than they used to... 20 or 30 years ago.'This season alone, Aars and his team of marine toxicologists and spatial behavior experts captured 53 bears, fitted 17 satellite collars, and tracked 10 mothers with cubs or yearlings.'We had a good season,' Aars team's innovations go beyond biopsies. Last year, they attached small 'health log' cylinders to five females, recording their pulse and with GPS data, the devices offer a detailed record of how the bears roam, how they rest and what they bears were once hunted freely across Svalbard but since an international protection agreement in 1976, the population here has slowly recovered. The team's findings may help explain how the bears' world is changing, and at an alarming rate.
