A new study released today in the online edition of Physiological Genomics finds that individuals with a specific genetic variation consistently consume more sugary foods. The study offers the first evidence of the role that a variation in the GLUT2 gene -- a gene that controls sugar entry into the cells - has on sugar intake, and may help explain individual preferences for foods high in sugar.
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A chemical reaction in genes that control breast cancer provides a molecular clock that could one day help researchers more accurately determine a woman's risk for developing breast cancer and provide a new approach for treatment, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
| | | | | | | | | A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve.
| | | | | | | | | Studying thousands of patients, Japanese researchers have found a strong link between tooth loss and increased risk of three cancers -- esophageal, head and neck, and lung. They suggest that preservation of teeth may decrease risk of developing these diseases.
| | | | | | | | | Using mathematics and a computer model of brain activity, Roberto Fernández Galán, PhD, an assistant professor of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has shown a direct link between activity in the cortex and the microscopic structure of this neuronal network. The findings are published in PLoS ONE on May 14.
| | | | | | | | | A new study finds a gap in overall death rates between Americans with less than high school education and college graduates increased rapidly from 1993 to 2001. The study, which appears in the May 14 issue of PLoS ONE, says the widening gap was due to significant decreases in mortality from all causes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other conditions, in the most educated while death rates among the least educated remained relatively unchanged.
| | | | | | | | | Pointed wings together with carrying less weight per wing area and avoidance of high winds and atmospheric turbulence save a bird lots of energy during migration. This is shown for the first time in free-flying wild birds by an international team of researchers. Reporting in this week's PLoS ONE, they state that climate change might have a critical impact on small migrants' energy budgets if it causes higher winds and atmospheric instability as predicted.
| | | | | | | | | A team of five University of Akron researchers has published the paper, "Sticky gecko feet: the role of temperature and humidity" in PLoS ONE, an open-access, online journal for peer-reviewed scientific and medical research.
| | | | | | | | | Dr Sonja Kleinlogel and professor Andrew White have shown that mantis shrimp not only have the ability to see colors from the ultraviolet through to the infrared, but have optimal polarization vision -- a first for any animal and a capability that humanity has only achieved in the last decade using fast computer technology. The findings are published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.
| | | | | | | | | A new study of leading news organizations has found that neglected tropical diseases rarely make headlines, despite the huge amount of illness, suffering, and poverty that they cause. The study is published May 14 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
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