Consuming slow-burning carbohydrates means exercise burns more fat

ScienceNews - Certain Carbs Boost Fat Burning

Building on research that showed that a lot of fat burning happened on an empty stomach (e.g. before breakfast), researchers hypothesized that eating carbohydrates that don't readily break down might also result in burning more calories. Researchers took (only) 8 women who weren't overweight but had little structured exercise in their lifestyles and had them repeatedly come into the lab for a day to eat breakfast, rest, exercise, eat lunch, then have their calorie-burning monitored into the afternoon. On different days, researchers altered the carbohydrate portion of the breakfast to be either fast-burning or slow-burning carbs, those with a high glycemic index and those with a low GI. Other than that, the caloric intake and carb-fat-protein proportions stayed the same. The women with the slow-burning carbohydrate breakfast burned 2-3x more fat during the afternoon than those with the fast-burning ones.

Sleep in fruit flies weakens synaptic connections

Discover Magazine - Sleep May Prepare You for Tomorrow by Dissolving Today's Neural Connections

Scientists working on fruit flies found that during sleep the proteins between many neurons were weakened and some were dissolved entirely. The proteins were considered good proxies for synaptic connections between neurons. During waking hours, the flies would form connections between neurons as they picked up new information and interacted socially. Flies with rich social environments with other flies formed more synapses than those in isolated environments. During sleep many proteins were weakened and some were eliminated. The data supports a synaptic homeostatic model of the brain that suggests that sleep scales back weak connections so that only the most salient memories remain, eliminating brain clutter and saving resources. [The conflict is that some other studies have found that during sleep connections are actually strengthened. A possible solution is that some strong synapses are strengthened, while a majority of others are lost.]

Running shoes do not protect against injury

The Daily Mail - The painful truth about trainers: are running shoes a waste of money?

An excerpt from a book by Christopher McDougall that is aimed at the running shoe industry, specifically at the rise in foot and running-related injuries since the invention of the modern running shoe. The modern running shoe was basically invented by Nike in the late 1960s and since then there has been no evidence-- at least none that was gathered in a scientific manner that is subject to peer review-- that the cushioned, rubbery running shoe reduces injury. In fact, there has been a correlation between increased injury and more expensive running shoes. [If you assume that more money buys you more padding/cushioning, then there is a correlation between cushioned running shoes and increased injury.] The way that the foot hits the ground when in running shoes is heel-to-toe, straight down; when running barefoot (the way humans evolved), we tend to splay out our toes and go toe-to-heel-to-toe and pronate, placing weight on the outside of the foot more. The article has three major lessons:
1) Studies have shown a correlation between cushiony shoes and greater injury
2) You instinctively search for terra firma and may be coming down harder than you normally would if you didn't have cushiony soles. Tests on gymnasts provides analogous evidence. Further, those soles do little to reduce the impact of running (the impact on your legs can be 12x your weight).
3) Pronation is natural and the arch of your foot should be allowed to do its work of support rather than be pushed up from underneath or allowed to atrophy by running in the modern running shoe.