Oct

13

Mom always said that you should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and it seems that science is backing her up. To protect against cancer, health professionals have always recommended eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Now scientists report on a possible explanation for this protection:

(Scientist) have have shown that a fragment released from pectin, found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to and is believed to inhibit galectin 3 (Gal3), a protein that plays a role in all stages of cancer progression.

“Most claims for the anticancer effects of foods are based on population studies,” says Professor Vic Morris from the Institute of Food Research. “For this research we tested a molecular mechanism and showed that it is viable.”

Population studies such as EPIC, the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer, identified a strong link between eating lots of fiber and a lower risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. But exactly how fiber exerts a protective effect is unknown.

Pectin is better known for its jam-setting qualities and as being a component of dietary fiber. The present study supports a more exciting and subtle role.

Interaction between dietary carbohydrates and mammalian proteins, of which this research is an example, may provide an explanation. Other food carbohydrates such as beta glucans are considered to be bioactive and their anti-cancer action can be attributed to different types of carbohydrate – mammalian protein interactions.

“For a whole combination of different effects it is best to consistently eat a range of fruits, vegetables and high-fiber foods,” says Professor Morris. “You don’t necessarily have to eat a superfood.”

The next stage of Prof Morris’ research is to identify how pectin can be taken up by the body and released so it can exert its effect on cancer cells. The research could result in functional foods with added bioactive pectin as well as providing more conclusive evidence for the importance of a eating at least your ‘5-a-day’.

So it looks like mom was right again – hopefully she won’t rub it in. In any case, I guess I should go eat an apple. :-)  

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/nbi-pp101008.php

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Oct

13

As guys grow older, one of the first things to go is not the libido, but their hair. Even those most guy would deny the vanity associated with wanting to have a great head of hair, we see evidence of it in the form of advertising.

So in who in their bloodline can they blame for the receding hairline? Well a new hair-loss gene has been discover by scientists at Bonn and Düsseldorf Universities that sheds more light onto premature baldness. As reported by Eurekalert:

Scientists at Bonn and Düsseldorf Universities have discovered an important hair-loss gene. During their study, the researchers investigated over 500,000 positions in the human genome, and found a gene variant which occurs clearly more frequently in bald men than in control persons. The results are to be published in the November issue of the journal Nature Genetics (online publication on October 12th 2008 18:00 London time, doi: 10.1038/ng.228). In 2005, these scientists had already characterized the first hair-loss gene inherited through the maternal line, which explained why hair-loss in men often reflects that of their maternal grandfathers. This newly discovered gene, on the other hand, may now account for the similarity in cranial hair growth between father and son.

The researchers had concentrated their attention on the genomes of just under 300 men suffering from marked hair loss, investigating for this purpose over 500,000 variable sites in the genomes of their test subjects. Two positions frequently displayed a clear correspondence with baldness in these men – a clear indication that the genes located at those points were involved in hair-loss. “In one of these conspicuous regions lies the gene for the androgen receptor”, Dr. Axel Hillmer of the Life&Brain Forschungszentrum (research centre) in Bonn states. “We had already learnt from an earlier study that this receptor was linked to hair loss. However, the other region was new to us”.
This is only the second region of the genome that can definitely be associated with premature hair-loss. “We are now trying to discover the role played by this genomic region in hair-growth”, says Dr. Felix Brockschmidt of Bonn University. “Only then will we know whether we on the right track for new forms of therapy for male hair-loss”.

The study was conducted by the research teams headed by Professor Dr. Markus Nöthen (Bonn University´s Institute of Human Genetics and Life & Brain-Center) and Privatdozent Dr. Roland Kruse (Department of Dermatology, University Clinic Düsseldorf). Over a period of years, the scientists had collected blood samples from affected males all over Germany. As part of their study, they have been able to confirm their findings through additional sufferers in Australia. The Australian research team is headed by Nicholas Martin (Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane).

If the father is bald, the son is also at risk
The results reveal that more than one gene is involved in the development of male hair-loss. These results also throw interesting light on the inheritance of baldness in that hitherto the only known risk gene for the androgen receptor lay on the X-chromosome, and was thus inherited from the mother – which accounts for the fact that in the case of hair-loss men often take after their maternal grandfathers. However, the newly discovered gene lies on chromosome 20, and can be inherited from both the mother and the father. “This helps to provide an explanation for the similarity between father and son”, declares Professor Nöthen.

For those suffering from baldness, hopefully this new discovery will lead to better treatment, maybe even gene therapy. Until then, hopefully the bald look will continue to be cool.

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