Impacts of genetics on snacking patterns

Researcher Elie Chamoun investigated whether genetic variants in taste receptors related to sweet preference, fat taste sensitivity and aversion to bitter green leafy vegetables influence the snacks chosen by children. He found that nearly 80 per cent of children in the study carried at least one of these potential at-risk genotypes that could predispose them to poor snacking habits.

Chidren are eating a lot more snacks now than they used to, looking at how genetics can be related to snacking behaviour, it  is important to understanding increased obesity among children, the study looked at connections between the genes of the three at-risk taste receptors and linked them to snacking patterns among children.

The study entailed tracking the day-to-day diets of children and found that one-third of the children's diets were made up of snacks, children with a sweet tooth, who have the gene related to sweet taste preference, ate snacks with significantly more calories from sugar. The children with the genetic variant related to fat taste sensitivity were found to consume snacks with higher energy density.

People with this genetic variant may have low oral sensitivity to fat and therefore consume more fatty foods without sensing it. Higher-energy density snacks, such as cookies with lots of sugar and fat, have a higher number of calories for their weight. The children with the genetic variant related to avoiding bitter vegetables also consumed snacks with high energy density.
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Fat distribution increases the risk of heart attack

It's not the amount of fat in the body but where it's stored that may increase the risk for heart attack, stroke and diabetes. People of the same weight or body mass index (BMI) may have different risk profiles, based on genetics, lifestyle and diet. In addition, body composition differs between men and women, with women having proportionately more fat and men having more muscle mass.

Fat distribution is an important determinant of cardiometabolic risk.  There are different body shapes, common descriptors of human body shapes, based on where fat tends to be stored in the body. In apple-shaped bodies, fat is distributed largely around the midsection, while in pear-shaped bodies, fat is distributed lower around the hips and thighs. The type of fat stored also plays a role in cardiometabolic risk. One type of fat-ectopic fat-is dangerous. It may be found in places such as the abdominal region, muscles, liver and other organs.

There are gender-based differences in body composition and ectopic fat depots and that these could be associated with gender-specific risk profiles for diseases like diabetes, heart disease and stroke, researchers examined overweight and obese men and women wit the same BMI who were otherwise healthy. After fasting overnight, the study participants underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and CT scans to determine body composition, as well as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for fat quantification and analysis.

The results showed that the women had a higher percentage of fat and more subcutaneous (below-the-skin) fat but lower lean mass, compared to men. However, men had more visceral adipose tissue (VAT), or ectopic fat depots located in the abdomen around the internal organs known as a "beer belly", and more ectopic fat in the muscles and liver. Obese men have relatively higher visceral fat, fat within muscle cells and liver fat, which are all risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, compared to women with the same BMI. However, men have higher muscle and lean mass, which are protective for cardiometabolic health.

Women have a higher relative amount of total body fat and higher superficial thigh fat, which is protective for cardiometabolic health. Compared to women, men had higher measures of cardiometabolic risk overall, but ectopic fat was not significantly associated with cardiometabolic risk in men. Ectopic fat in women, however, was strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk measures. The detrimental fat depots deep in the belly, muscles and liver are more damaging for cardiometabolic health in women compared to men.

The researchers looked at the relationship between sarcopenic obesity-or the loss of skeletal lean muscle mass in the presence of obesity and its relationship to cardiometabolic risk. Many factors can lead to sarcopenic obesity in young adults, particularly obesity and lack of exercise. Growth hormone helps to build muscle mass. Nutrition also plays an important role, and too little intake of protein can lead to muscle loss. The researchers studied  young, overweight and obese adults who were otherwise healthy.

Participants underwent DXA and CT scans and various metabolic tests. Results showed that having a lower lean muscle mass to BMI ratio was associated with cardiometabolic risk, and these effects were stronger in women than in men. Sarcopenic obesity may be an under-appreciated mechanism linking obesity to cardiometabolic disease.
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Age and diseases may be responsible for curve penis

According to a doctor, the penis can become curve naturally as a man gets older, it can be a sign of a serious disease which has recently been linked to cancer. Some men have a more bent penis for a harmless reason-the two tubes that fill with blood to give an erection can be different sizes. The skin on the organ can affect how curved it appears, aging makes skin gets looser, the curve can look more pronounced.

But a bent penis can be a symptom of a condition known as Peyronie's disease, which is estimated to affect up to seven percent of males. Researchers recently linked this with a higher risk of various cancers-including testicular, melanoma and stomach. Signs of  Peyronie's include scar tissue, a significant bend, erection problems and pain.

When the penis becomes erect, it's because two tubes called the corpora cavernosa fill up with blood,
the resultant curve may not be too noticeable when a man is flaccid but become more obvious when he is hard. As we all age, the skin all over our body produces less collagen and as a result, the skin becomes thinner and more fragile and starts to sag. So the natural curve can be more prominent as the skin hangs down looser.

Peyronie's disease occurs when a scar formation in penis prevents straight erection. It can make sex painful and cause erectile dysfunction. But in many cases men have no recollection of a specific trauma. In some, Peyronie's comes on gradually and doesn't seem to be related to an injury. Researchers therefore suspect it can be related to genes. In some men, injury and genetics could both be involved.

A recent study of different men found Peyronie's disease brought a higher risk of testicular cancer by 40 percent, melanoma by 29 percent and stomach cancer by 40 percent. A gene that may trigger the complaint could also be linked to the development of tumors.
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Genetics affects mental development

Researchers compared the eye movements of 466 children -233 pairs of twins (119 identical and 114 fraternal)-between ages 9 and 14 as each child looked at 80 snapshots of scenes people might encounter in daily life, half of which included people. Using an eye tracker, the researchers then measured the sequence of eye movements in both space and time as each child looked at the scene. They also examined general "tendencies of exploration"; for example, if a child looked at only one or two features of a scene or at many different ones.

The study found a strong similarity in gaze patterns within sets of identical twins, who tended to look at the same features of a scene in the same order. It found a weaker but still pronounced similarity between fraternal twins.This suggests a strong genetic component to the way individuals visually explore their environments: Insofar as both identical and fraternal twins each share a common environment with their twin, the researchers can infer that the more robust similarity in the eye movements of identical twins is likely due to their shared genetic makeup.

The researchers also found that they could reliably identify a twin with their sibling from among a pool of unrelated individuals based on their shared gaze patterns- a novel method they termed "gaze fingerprinting." Human eyes are moving constantly, roughly three times per second. We are always seeking out information and actively engaged with our environment, and ultimately where you look affects development.

After early childhood, the study suggests that genes influence at the micro-level- through the immediate, moment-to-moment selection of visual information the environments individuals create for themselves. Eye movements allow individuals to obtain specific information from a space that is vast and largely unconstrained. Human biology affects how we seek out visual information from complex scenes. It gives us a new instance of how biology and environment are integrated in our development.

This study offers a new angle on the emergence of differences between individuals and the integration of genetic and environmental factors in social, emotional and cognitive development. This is significant because visual exploration is also one of the first ways infants interact with the environment.
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Obesity linked to different cancers

There is a link between obesity and different cancers, being obese or overweight was associated with cancer.
Some of the cancers linked with obesity include: brain cancer; multiple myeloma; cancer of the esophagus; postmenopausal breast cancer; cancers of the thyroid, gallbladder, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, ovaries, uterus and colon.

Of all cancers, 55 percent in women and 24 percent in men were associated with overweight and obesity. Blacks and whites had higher rates of weight-related cancer than other racial or ethnic groups. Black men and American Indian/Alaska Native men had higher rates of cancer than white men.

Except for colon cancer, cancers tied to overweight and obesity increased among those younger than 75 years.
Some other risk factors are smoking of cigarettes, drinking of alcohol, genetics,
sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition.

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The use of metabolism to subtype hepatoblastoma tumors

Hepatoblastoma is a rare pediatric liver cancer, usually diagnosed in the first three years of life. There are many subtypes of hepatoblastoma, the two major ones are fetal and embryonal.
Scientists have identified new biomarkers that could accurately classify the two main subtypes of hepatoblastoma, a children liver cancer.

Different types of hepatoblastoma use different nutrients to grow. Some use glucose or fatty acids. The genetics of hepatoblastoma involves frequent mutations in the gene CTNNB1. This gene produces the protein beta-catenin, which is involved in cell-cell adhesion and gene transcription. Because of its dual function, mutations of the CTNNB1 gene can cause hepatoblastoma cancer.

Beta-catenin is a component of a signaling pathway known as Wnt/beta-catenin, which is responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Many components of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway are affected and overactive in various tumors.

Researchers examined the relationship between the CTNNB1 gene and the cell's metabolism, they discovered that beta-catenin, as part of the Wnt signaling pathway directly regulates the expression of a gene that produces a glucose transporter protein. GLUT3

They used RNA sequencing to identify molecular and metabolic features that are specific to hepatoblastoma. This approach revealed that several enzymes involved in the metabolism of glucose are overexpressed in embryonal hepatoblastoma cells as compared to fetal hepatoblastoma cells.

Embryonal hepatoblastoma cells show high levels of glucose uptake, they also discovered that these cells are very sensitive to the perturbation of an enzyme involved in the cell's use of glucose. They immunohistochemistry of the three metabolic biomarkers to distinguish embryonal from fetal components out of a large panel of human hepatoblastoma biopsies.

The study shows that the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is important for reprograming the energy management of tumor cells. It also provides a new
metabolic classification of human hepatoblastoma that can help oncologists develop novel diagnostic methods and treatments.
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Inhaler may relieve early stage of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD is used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis.

Common symptoms of COPD are :
increased breathlessness, frequent coughing, wheezing and tightness in the chest. The inhaler medication Spiriva (tiotropium bromide) may slow the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD if used in the early stage of the disease.

Researchers discovered that the drug helped patients preserve more lung function for over two years. It also reduces the symptom and boosts patients' quality of life. There is no cure for COPD, but there are therapies that can manage the symptoms.

The use of inhaler bronchodilators, relax the muscles around the airways and make it easier to breathe. Smoking, genetics and exposure to pollutants are the risk factors of developing COPD.
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New drug for hair loss

Increasing lactate production genetically increases the stem cells in dormant hair follicles to grow again.
Receding hairlines and thinning crowns can be caused by aging, genetics, hormone imbalance, stress, illness and medications. The metabolic process that takes place in hair follicle stem cells is different from that which takes place in other skin cells.

Cells convert glucose into pyruvate but this metabolite can take one of two paths; it can be sent to the mitochondria and used as energy, or the cells can convert it to a different metabolite known as lactate - the same substance produced during intense exercise that causes a burning sensation in muscles.

Changing the chemical course of the glucose metabolites could change the behavior of inactive follicles. Researchers examined mice that had been genetically engineered to not produce lactate along with those that had been altered to increase lactate production.

They discovered that blocking lactate prevented hair follicle stem cells from being activated while increasing lactate increased the production of hair. When the drugs - RCGD423 and UK5099 were applied to the skin of mice, both increased lactate production and
accelerate hair growth.
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How genetics influence what we eat

Variation in genes are responsible for different food choices in different people. Gene variation that control how brain works may dictates foods we like to eat often.

Gene variation is the subtle DNA differences in different people that make them unique, it had impact on food preferences and diet plan.

Researchers examined genetics of 818 men and women and gather information about their diet and discovered that genes is responsible for diet choices.

Some genes in the body are responsible for salt and fat intake, this discovery leads to better understanding of why we eat what we eat and it can be used to minimize person's risk for common diseases.

Diets can cause or prevent cancer

Breast cancer is the development of uncontrollable cancer cells in the breast. Age, lifestyle, diet, genetics and gender are factors that contribute to risk of developing breast cancer

Regular consumption of plant bases diet can reduce risk of developing cancer. Eight to ten servings of fruits and vegetables is recommended per day.

Foods rich in variety of fruits, vegetables, fibre, spices, good fat and nuts can reduce risk of having breast cancer.

Scientists have explored the contribution of different foods on the risk of developing breast cancer, it has become general advice to reduce consumption of these foods: red meat, sugar, fat, alcohol and processed foods.