The transfer of human microbiota to mice has successfully transplanted phenotypes of obesity, depression, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and multiple sclerosis. Now, we can add autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to the list. A new study suggests that the gut microbiome and its metabolites contribute to hallmark ASD behaviors and associated neuronal…

Sleep isn’t just a lazy way to spend your weekend morning time, it’s an essential biological function associated with good health (when appropriately obtained) or disease (when deficient). While humans spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping, our understanding of how this biological process is regulated is poorly understood. Yet,…

The identification of obesity-associated genes has been a growing area of research over the last two decades, altering our understanding of obesity. A new study broadens our understanding of genes’ role in obesity by targeting body-fat distribution. Specifically, the researchers present the first association of body-fat distribution, assessed by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) adjusted…

The risk of death, like the risk of disease, rises with age. That much is obvious. What is less obvious is that for mortality and disease, the underlying risk dynamics—what might be called the actuarial contours of decline—are closely associated. In fact, the contours are so similar that scientists suspect…

The risk of developing diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases has been linked with where in our bodies we tend to accumulate fat. A large-scale genome-wide association study carried out by researchers at Uppsala University has now identified dozens of genetic factors that influence the distribution of fat, and…

Researchers from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified an epigenetic marker and two genes that caused heart failure in the children and grandchildren of fruit flies with high-fat-diet-induced heart dysfunction. Reversing the epigenetic modification or over-expressing the two genes protected subsequent generations from the negative heart…

Diets containing berries and pomegranates are believed to have potentially manifold benefits to human health, and scientists in India and the U.S. have now demonstrated in mice how one pomegranate-derived metabolite that is produced by microorganisms residing naturally in the gut can help to protect against and reduce the severity…

Researchers in the U.K. have found 14 genetic regions related to activity, seven new to science. The work paves the way for better understanding of sleep, physical activity, and their health consequences, according to the scientists whose study (“GWAS identifies 14 loci for device-measured physical activity and sleep duration”) appears in Nature…

While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and few drugs have had clinical efficacy in slowing progression, early detection is still a high priority to help manage the disease appropriately. Now, a new study by investigators at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology within the Washington University School…

The advantages of early detection in cancer screening cannot be overstated. Mountains of evidence exist showing the importance of intervening quickly not only to halt the spread of disease but also that survival rates improve dramatically for nearly all forms of cancer. Yet, identifying early markers of cancer remains a…

The results of studies by researchers at Florida State University College of Medicine suggest that nicotine exposure in men could lead to cognitive deficits in their children and grandchildren. The research found that adding nicotine to the drinking water of male mice led to epigenetic changes in sperm cell genes…

We are all told that dietary fiber is good for us, but are all sources and forms of fiber equally beneficial to health? Studies by researchers at the University of Toledo (UT) have surprisingly found that mice developed liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma; HCC) when fed on diets fortified with refined…

An international team of researchers has discovered a single gene mutation that slows the metabolism of sugar in the gut providing people with the mutation protection against diabetes, obesity and heart disease. The finding suggests potential therapies that could mimic this mutation to treat people with these conditions. “We’re excited…

Federally-funded research, including advances in -omics technologies, is driving both development of new treatments and advances in public health, paced by a 26% drop in the cancer death rate, The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) said in its annual Cancer Progress Report. However, AACR Cancer Progress Report 2018 also…

Techniques such as high-throughput genome sequencing have allowed scientists to identify hundreds of genetic variants that are linked with increased risk of different neurodevelopmental or neuropsychological disorders, such epilepsy, schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, two people with the same known risk variant won’t necessarily present with…