Posts tagged with "People"

Above, fetuses smile when mom eats carrots and frown when she eats kale. (Photo source: Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab/Durham University)

‘Wombcam’: Fetuses smile when mother eats carrots, frown when she eats kale

March 7, 2023

Fetuses in the womb smiled after their mothers ate carrots—but grimaced after they ate kale, during a study recently conducted at Britain’s Durham University, People magazine reports.

Findings were released last September from a study of nearly 100 pregnant women and their fetuses in England, during which the mothers were fed capsules filled with powdered versions of kale and carrots.

For the study, which was published in the Sage Journals, researchers gave 35 women the equivalent of one medium-size carrot while 34 women consumed the equivalent of 100 grams of chopped kale. The rest of the participants did not consume either.

According to researchers, the fetuses in the study were at 32 to 36 weeks gestation. The participants in the research were white British women between the ages of 18 and 40 with “healthy, singleton fetuses.”

After 20 minutes, 4D ultrasound images showed varying facial reactions from the fetuses depending on what they were fed. The fetuses exposed to the carrot appeared to be smiling while those exposed to kale looked to be grimacing. The control group did not have the same responses.

“We are the first ones who could actually show on an ultrasound scan the facial expressions in relation to the food which the mother has just consumed,” said Nadja Reissland, a co-author of the study and head of the Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab at Durham University, per NBC News.

Researchers also found that facial responses to the flavors became more complex as the fetuses matured. Reissland noted that she believes the new study could help our “understanding of how exposure to flavors in the womb affects eating habits later in life,” NBC News reports.

Research contact: @people

Above, Ronald cuddles with one of his new 'brothers.' (Photo source: SPCA of Wake County/Facebook)

Ronald the puppy finds his perfect home after 14 failed adoptions

January 25, 2023

North Carolina nurse Kierstin Davis is sharing the story of how she adopted a 63-pound white puppy called Ronald after he’d suffered 14 failed adoptions in just five weeks, reports People.

Speaking with The Washington Post, Davis said she knew she had to act fast after a post looking for Ronald’s 15th home by the SPCA of Wake County went viral.

After submitting an application, Davis, 28, received the happy news that “Ronny” was coming home to her family on January 12.

“Everything’s been really good at the house,” she said. “He really just fits in perfectly.”

As for why the energetic, playful dog kept getting returned, SPCA spokesperson Samantha Ranlet told the Post: “It was all just different versions of that combination of being really playful and kind of clumsy and goofy and still working on his manners, in combination with his large size.”\

The outlet didn’t note how many of the families had children, which also can be a big deciding factor.

Despite his string of failed adoptions, staff at the SPCA had grown to love the “sweet, cute” dog, Ranlet added. It is partly because of this that she took to Facebook for help getting the word out, writing “Help us break Ronald’s unlucky streak! 14 adoptions have fallen through for this lovely guy — mostly due to being too big/strong.”

“It’s true, he’s a big boy! But for his large frame, he only weighs 63 lbs,” added Ranlet. “Ronald knows his commands, takes treats super gently, and is 100% sweet. He truly is a very good boy.

“Now and then, if he gets excited, he might stand up and put his front paws on you or become a little mouthy. But he is a big puppy, after all! As long as you have reasonably sturdy footing, you’ll have no problem with Ronald. Plus, he loves treats and practicing his tricks, so he’ll be a great student for any training.”

Davis was one of the thousands who saw the post.

“I was like, ‘Oh, there’s no way I’m going to get him,'” she told the Post. “Someone, I’m sure, is going to scoop him up so fast. But I applied anyway.”

Her luck was in: Davis, who has two young boys, 4 and 7, along with a black Australian shepherd she rescued a couple of years ago, happened to be first on the list.

Agreeing to a five-week trial, she brought Ronald back home, surprising her kids with their latest family member in the living room.

They “just screamed with excitement,” said Davis of her kids. “Just right off the bat … I was like, ‘Oh, he’s perfect. He’s staying.'”

Research contact: @people

Above, Bianca in her ballet class. (Photo source: Disney Animation/Twitter)

Disney debuts first animated heroine to struggle with body image

October 31, 2022

Reflect, a new short film on Disney+, explores the challenges young people often face with body image—and fans are praising the concept, reports People.

An episode in the latest season of Short Circuit Experimental Films, the story centers around Bianca, who feels out of place in her ballet class and worries she is less-than her classmates. Battling her reflection, she channels her inner strength to help overcome her self-doubt by immersing herself in dance. She eventually comes to appreciate the body that had before caused her feel unsure of herself.

Director Hillary Bradfield, who worked as a storyboard artist on Avatar: The Way of Water, says it’s all about body positivity. “I feel like I’m a very body-positive person in principle,” she said in the series. “But when it’s on a personal level it’s a lot harder to be body positive.”

“Setting the story from a dancer’s perspective seemed just natural,” Bradfield said. “It’s part of the craft to be looking at your posture and checking things in the mirror, so it just seemed like a really good way to put her in that environment where she has to look at herself but she doesn’t want to.

“When people watch the short, I hope they can feel more positively about themselves and how they look—and feel okay about the tough parts of the journey,” she said. “Sometimes you go to the dark place to get to the good place and that just makes the good place that much more beautiful.”

The new programming was created to give a voice to a wider variety of people and stories — any of the artists at Disney Animation Studios can pitch an idea and have an opportunity to create their own short film.

So far, Reflect has received a lot of praise by fans who can relate to Bianca’s character.

“THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Disney+ FINALLY made a short with a Plus Size lead!” one fan wrote on Twitter. “Let’s just say I was SOBBING.”

Another commenter responded with a similar sentiment. “16 year old me needed this Disney short before I quit ballet because I didn’t want to be the fat girl in class anymore,” she wrote.

“I’m glad little ones will have this,” the second fan added. “10/10 for Reflect!”

President of Disney’s General Entertainment Content Karey Burke told employees in March that Disney aims to have at least half of its characters come from “underrepresented groups.”

Research contact: @people

Above, a scene of 'Friends' taped in the original Central Perk set (Photo source: NBC)

‘Friends’-inspired ‘Central Perk’ coffee shop is set to sell real brew next year

September 5, 2022

There’s nothing quite like a cup of “How You Doin’?” to start your day, and visitors to Central Perk—the hip New York City coffee shop from the sitcom “Friends”—will be able to enjoy their choice of aptly named brew starting in 2023, reports Delish.

Indeed, Central Perk is continuing to take on a life of its own outside of the series. This time around, Central Perk serves as the inspiration for a new line of coffee and a real-life coffee shop that will open next year.

People was among the first media sources to divulge that the upcoming Central Perk Coffeehouse and the coffees are a collaboration between Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and CenPer Holdings.

Fans of the popular sitcom will find a bit of humor in the names of the blends, which are inspired by classic moments and quotes from the show. “How You Doin’?” is a medium roast blend, the “Pivot Blend” is medium to dark roast coffee, and the “We Were on a Coffee Break” is a dark roast blend.

“Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio serves as one of CenPer Holdings’ partners, and he promises that fans of the long-running show can expect only the best from the collab.

For those eager to get their hands the Central Perk coffee, you’ve got plenty of options. The coffee can be purchased individually, as part of a customizable coffee-subscription service, or as part of a curated multi-blend sampler pack. Head to Centralperk.com for more info.

Additionally, for “Friends” fanatics who are among the first 6,000 new Central Perk Coffee subscribers, you’ll receive a complimentary collectible can of “How You Doin’?” coffee.

Research contact: @DelishDotCom

Above, the Queen in Cardiff last week. (Photo source: Sky News)

‘You are as old as you feel’: Queen Elizabeth II refuses ‘Oldie of the Year’ award

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October 21, 2021

Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 95 last April, has declined an award for “Oldie of the Year” from a British magazine, with a polite—if slightly cheeky—response, reports Page Six of The New York Post.

“Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel; as such the Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept and hopes you find a more worthy recipient,” Tom Laing-Baker, the Queen’s assistant private secretary, said in a letter shared by the magazine on Tuesday, October 19.

The Oldie, a British monthly, is aimed at the mature set “as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity,” its website trumpets. Every year the editors bestow an Oldie of the Year award in a light-hearted ceremony. Previous winners have included Eileen Atkins, Glenda Jackson, Peter Blake, and David Hockney.

But at least one member of the royal family approves of the ceremony. The Queen’s daughter-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, turned up at Oldie’s awards lunch to hand out honors like Champion Knitter of the Year and Truly Scrumptious Oldie of the Year.

In her remarks, Camilla, 74, acknowledged the advantages of aging: “Watching one’s children growing up; enjoying one’s grandchildren—knowing that they’ll be going home after the visit; finding more time to read; finding time to read The Oldie—and coming to jolly lunches like this one,” Prince Charles’s wife said, according to People.

The Oldie magazine clearly has a soft spot for the Royal Family. The Queen’s husband, Prince Phillip, who passed away in April at age 99, was named Consort of the Year at the awards in 2012.

He accepted the award warmly, writing: “There is nothing like it for morale to be reminded that the years are passing—ever more quickly,” and adding, “but it is nice to be remembered at all.”

Research contact: @PageSix

Above, Bravo's Andy Cohen is appealing for the safe return of childhood friend Andy Neiman (inset). (Photo source: GoFundMe)

Andy Cohen seeks help in search for missing childhood friend who disappeared two weeks ago

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June 7, 2021

Andy Cohen is asking for help finding a childhood friend who has been missing for two weeks, People magazine reports.

The Bravo star, 53, posted a missing person’s flier on Facebook after actor and playwright Andy Neiman disappeared from the MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, on May 21.

The poster says that Neiman, 48, is “a missing vulnerable adult” who has schizophrenia. He was last seen wearing green hospital scrubs and glasses. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds.

Cohen and Neiman went to the same camp, as well as the same high school, he told The New York Post’s Page Six.

“I’m praying for his safe return, along with a lot of folks in St Louis,” Cohen said.

A GoFundMe campaign to spread awareness about Neiman’s disappearance, describes him as a “brother, son, friend, and father.”

Loved ones write that Neiman “has a history of mental illness and may be suffering from psychosis.”

“While we believe Andy is still in the local area, family, friends, search parties and police have been looking for four days and have not yet located him,” his loved ones wrote, adding that they are raising funds to hire a private investigator for the case.

Neiman has a nine-year-old daughter. In addition to being a loving dad, he is a “wonderful, spiritual guy” his sister, Emily Abramson, told Page Six.

“He is incredibly quirky with deep passions for a variety of things, especially the performing arts and Shakespeare,” she said. “His mind is greatly analytical.”

She added, “One of his talents is transmuting his understanding of Shakespeare to people of every age.”

People magazine urges anyone with information on Neiman’s disappearance to call the New York Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3543.

Research contact: @people

Above, Sisu and his unicorn. (Photo source: Mary Shannon Johnstone)

Stray dog is gifted with plush toy unicorn after repeatedly trying to steal it from Dollar General store

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April 5, 2021

A stray dog in North Carolina has been gifted with the unicorn plush toy that he tried to steal multiple times from a Dollar General store, Sunny Skyz reports.

According to Duplin County Animal Services, a stray dog named Sisu snuck into the store repeatedly when the automatic doors opened and made a beeline straight for the purple stuffed toy.

“He went straight for the unicorn, the same one every time,” Joe Newburn, the department head at the shelter, told Sunny Skyz. “He actually had to go through the whole store to get to that unicorn. It was in the Easter section he went to that same unicorn and kept pulling it out, and finally, he had done it so much the store called us,” Newburn explains of how Sisu came under the shelter’s care.

Samantha Lane, the officer who responded to the Dollar General store’s call, was so taken with Sisu’s devotion to the unicorn that she bought the $10 toy for the dog.

According to Newburn, the canine was happy to head off with Lane once he had his unicorn. “The only thing we can think is that he came from a home where he had a similar stuffed animal or kids in the home did,” Newburn said.

Indeed, since Lane bought Sisu—who was named by shelter workers after the dragon in Disney’s new film, Raya and the Last Dragon — his unicorn, the dog hasn’t let the toy out of his sight, People magazine reports..

When the unicorn gets dirty, Sisu won’t lie on it, so the shelter staff removes the toy for washing and quickly returns it. “Every time you put that unicorn with him when he’s laying on it, he looks happy; he’s at peace with that purple unicorn, and it’s felt good. It’s been very uplifting to my staff. It’s a tough job, but it’s a rewarding job, and I see smiles on my staff’s faces now,” Newburn adds.

Sisu is considered a stray at the shelter because no one has come forward to claim him. He is currently available for adoption and is described as a 1-year-old male who is very obedient with people.

Research contact: @SunnySkyz

Above, Liz-Joy Murray's homage to 'A League of Their Own.' (Photo source: Inspired to Taste)

Easy as pie? Baker creates intricate ‘narrative pies’ embellished with tasteful stories

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December 23, 2020

Liz Joy-Murray—the art director at the Los Angeles-based confectionery and bakery, Inspired to Taste— is the first to admit that her spectacular “narrative pies,” which feature baked-in scenes from book and movies such as Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, and A League of Their Own, look almost too good to eat, People magazine reported recently.

But “everything I use is completely edible and safe,” the self-described “sugar artist” told the magazine.

Joy-Murray, a former Hollywood art director, left the movie business five years ago to start experimenting with her edible designs. She immediately was hooked: “Once I started brainstorming designs,” she told People, “I realized pies are an unexpected medium for storytelling.

Although she is prolific, she does have her favorites among all of the fanciful designs. “The most special pies for me are the ones I create for my dad, highlighting his childhood stories in Honduras,” she explained. “I have so much fun dreaming up all sorts of designs.”

And for all of those amateur home bakers who have started making bread, cookies, and other treats during the pandemic, Murray now serves as an inspiration. The People story is posted on her Instagram site, along with samples of her most fanciful (and delicious) designs.

Research contact: @people