Every week there are numerous scientific studies published. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting ones.
Every week there are numerous scientific studies published. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting ones.
Sugary Drinks May Cause Cancer
It’s well known that sugar can lead to teeth decay and obesity, and that sugary drinks can be a major culprit in people over-indulging in sugar. There have also long been suggestions that diets high in sugar are linked to cancer, but the mechanism isn’t completely clear. Now, researchers in France published research in The BMJ that further makes the connection.
The research team analyzed data on 101,257 healthy French adults (21% men; 79% women) from the NutriNet-Sante cohort study. The average age of participants was 42 years. The patients completed at least two 24-hour online validated dietary surveys that were designed to measure usual ingestion of 3,300 different food and drink items. They were followed for up to a maximum of nine years.
By sugary drinks, they included sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juices. The study found that a 100 mL per day increase of sugary drinks was associated with an 18% increased overall risk of cancer and a 22% increased risk of breast cancer. Even splitting the data into fruit juices and other sugary drinks, there was still an associated higher risk of overall cancer. However, no association was found for prostate and colorectal cancers. They did not find an association between drinking artificially sweetened beverages and increased risk of cancer, but the authors note that in this study diet drinks represented a much lower number of patients, so the data is limited. Although the study wasn’t geared to identify the mechanisms of the link, the authors propose that it is related to an increase of fat stored around the liver and pancreas, increased blood sugar levels, and inflammatory markers, all of which have been linked to higher risk of cancer.
Pro-inflammatory Diet Linked to Colorectal and Breast Cancer Risk
It’s not exactly new that certain diets seem linked to cancer. New research found a correlation between inflammatory and antioxidant diets and the risk of developing colorectal and breast cancer. In a study in Spain, researchers found that an inflammatory diet almost doubled the risk of developing colorectal cancer. An inflammatory diet is marked by refined carbohydrates, red and processed meat, and saturated or trans fats. The antioxidant diet, on the other hand, includes vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts.
DNA Replication at the Atomic Level
Researchers with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital created the first atomic resolution image of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex that plays a central role in DNA replication. During DNA replication, the MCM complex sits at the fork where double-stranded DNA separates into single strands. The single strands are copied to create a new DNA molecule. Their research shows that a rotary mechanism is involved, as the MCM complexes begin to move in different directions.
New Insights into Different Types of Multiple Sclerosis
Researchers with City University of New York and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified specific biological differences between the two types of multiple sclerosis (MS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS. They published their research in BRAIN, A Journal of Neurology. The research team took the CSF from RRMS patients and progressive MS patients. They then exposed live-cultured rat neurons to different CSF. They took time-lapse videos and utilized a mitochondrial tracer to allow imaging and visualization of the mitochondria. The mitochondria from the progressive MS were elongated and formed a tubular network. Further research identified the presence of ceramides, which damage the ability of the mitochondria in neurons to make energy.
Wirelessly Hacking the “Boss” Gene
The so-called boss gene is FGFR1, which plays a key role in how humans grow from embryos to adults, and because it controls approximately 4,500 other genes. Researchers recently wirelessly controlled FGFR1 in lab-grown brain tissue using minuscule photogenic brain implants, wireless devices that include nano-lasers and nano-antennas. The research team believes this could lead to treatments for cancer and mental disorders like schizophrenia.
Molecular Mechanism May Stimulate Fat Storage Even When You Cut Calories
Evolutionarily speaking, the human body has developed mechanisms to store fat in response to potential low-calorie situations. Now that, generally speaking, the developed world has an abundance of available calories, these mechanisms work against us. But researchers at New York University identified a protein called RAGE on the surface of fat cells. Its function is to stop the breakdown of stored fat when stressed. But they also found the possibility that some molecules that activate RAGE may accumulate in the body, making it more difficult for people to lose weight by dieting, because these stored molecules might still stimulate RAGE to store fat.
Oxidative Stress and Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is marked by the accumulation of abnormal intraneuronal inclusions, which are formed as a result of aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein. But they appear in various brain regions during the progression of the disease. How this happens isn’t well understood. Scientists have now found that a new mechanism of oxidative stress, uncontrolled or excess reactive oxygen species, appears to increase the likelihood of alpha-synuclein to travel from one neuron to the other. And it might be a Catch-22 type of situation, where oxidative stress promotes alpha-synuclein accumulation, which in turn creates more oxidative stress.
