Hormone | SilverScorpio.Com

How people lose muscles as they get older

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 12 (ANI): Even the most well-built people tend to loose their muscles and develop thinner arms and legs as they get older, and researchers in Nottingham have now explained why this happens.

As age catches up, it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy-they get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures.

The researchers have already shown that when older people eat, they cannot make muscle as fast as the young, and now they have found that the suppression of muscle breakdown, which also happens during feeding, is blunted with age.

Led by Michael Rennie, the scientists and doctors at The University of Nottingham Schools of Graduate Entry Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, believe that a ‘double whammy’ affects people aged over 65.

But the team think that weight training may “rejuvenate” muscle blood flow, and help retain muscle for older people.

The study’s results may explain the ongoing loss of muscle in older people- when they eat they do not build enough muscle with the protein in food and also, the insulin (a hormone released during a meal) fails to shut down the muscle breakdown that rises between meals and overnight.

Normally, in young people, insulin acts to slow muscle breakdown.

These problems could be a result of a failure to deliver nutrients and hormones to muscle because of a poorer blood supply.

In the study, the researchers compared one group of people in their late 60s to a group of 25-year-olds, with equal numbers of men and women.

Professor Rennie said: “The results were clear. The younger people’s muscles were able to use insulin we gave to stop the muscle breakdown, which had increased during the night. The muscles in the older people could not.”

“In the course of our tests, we also noticed that the blood flow in the leg was greater in the younger people than the older ones. This set us thinking: maybe the rate of supply of nutrients and hormones is lower in the older people? This could explain the wasting we see,” he added.

Later, Beth Phillips, a PhD student working with Rennie, confirmed the blunting effect of age on leg blood flow after feeding, with and without exercise.

The team predicted that weight training would reduce this blunting.

“Indeed, she found that three sessions a week over 20 weeks ‘rejuvenated’ the leg blood flow responses of the older people. They became identical to those in the young,” said Rennie.

The study has been published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: 60s, age, American, ANI, Arms And Legs, Beth Phillips, biomedical, biomedical sciences, blood, blood flow, blood supply, breakdown, cannot, clinical, course, double whammy, effect, entry, exercise, failure, feeding, flow, food, graduate, Graduate Entry Medicine, group, hormone, hormones, insulin, journal, leg, likelihood, loss, make, meal, medicine, men and women, Michael Rennie, muscle, Muscle Breakdown, muscles, night, nottingham, nutrients, nutrition, people, PhD, Professor Rennie, protein, rate, result, schools, Scientists, Sep, strength, student, study, supply, suppression, team, Thinner Arms, training, University, Washington, wasting, week, weight, weight training, whammy

Weight gain in adulthood linked to prostate cancer risk

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 12 (ANI): Body size and weight gain in younger and older adulthood may help weigh a man’s proneness to prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.

Led by Dr. Brenda Hernandez, the researchers said that the risk varies among different ethnic groups

For the study, the researchers studied the relationship in a multiethnic population consisting of blacks, Japanese, Hispanics, Native Hawaiians and whites, and compared differences among age groups using the Multiethnic Cohort, a longitudinal study of men 45-75 years of age established in Hawaii and California from 1993-1996.

Of the 83,879 men who participated in the study, 5,554 developed prostate cancer.

Overall, men who were overweight or obese by age 21 had a decreased risk of localized and low-grade prostate cancer, according to Hernandez.

Their results suggested that being overweight in older adulthood was associated with increased prostate cancer risk among white and Native Hawaiian men, but a decreased risk among Japanese men.

While excessive weight gain between younger and older adulthood was observed to increase the risk of advanced and high-grade prostate cancers in white men and increase the risk of localized and low-grade disease in black men, it appeared to decrease the risk of localized prostate cancer in Japanese men.

“The relationship of certain characteristics, such as body size, with cancer risk may vary across ethnic groups due to the combined influence of both genes and lifestyle,” said Hernandez.

However, the relationship between body size and prostate cancer risk is not entirely understood.

Excess fat is associated with a number of conditions that contribute to cancer development including low-grade chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, metabolic abnormalities, and hormone imbalances.

These conditions may in turn contribute to more aggressive prostate malignancies.

Ethnic differences in cancer risk may be explained by differences in the distribution of stored body fat that could have a differential effect on the development of prostate cancer.

And the distribution of body fat may influence the specific way that excess fat influences cancer risk.

The study has been published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: adulthood, age, American, ANI, association, bioMarkers, body, California, cancer, cancer development, cancer research center, center, chronic inflammation, cohort, Development, different ethnic groups, differential, disease, distribution, Dr. Brenda Hernandez, effect, epidemiology, ethnic, excess, excessive weight gain, fat, gain, hawaii, Hawaii At Manoa, Hawaiians, hormone, Hormone Imbalances, inflammation, influence, insulin, insulin resistance, Japanese, japanese men, journal, Lifestyle, longitudinal, longitudinal study, Malignancies, man, Manoa, Metabolic Abnormalities, Multiethnic, native, Native Hawaiians, number, obese, Older Adulthood, overweight, population, prevention, prostate, Prostate Cancer, prostate cancer risk, prostate cancers, relationship, Research, resistance, risk, Sep, size, study, University, University Of Hawaii, University Of Hawaii At Manoa, Washington, way, weight, white men

Stay-at-home parents ‘most stressed workers’

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 12 (ANI): Parents who stay at home and look after the household are the most stressed out, a new UK study claims.

According to a research conducted by Mindlab Organisation, mothers or fathers who do household chores are more frazzled than those with traditionally high-pressure jobs, like city trading, teaching or nursing.

Stress levels were investigated in British adults as per their “work” roles – stay-at-home parents, taxi drivers, teachers, nurses and city dealers.

The conclusion was reached by measuring levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout an average working day.

It was found that stay-at-home parents proved to be the most under pressure. Nurses ranked second in the list, followed by the traders, then teachers and finally, taxi drivers.

A bio-monitoring equipment was used to measure and record the heart rate and skin conductance.

The participants were connected to the equipment and tested over a seven-hour period.

Also, samples of saliva were taken at crucial junctures during the day to measure cortisol, which is a direct indicator of stress.

“The key here is the degree of control each of these professionals feel able to exercise over their lives,” the Daily Express quoted Dr David Lewis, who was part of the research, as saying.

“Stay-at-home parents receive little or no specific training and are furthermore typically isolated from other adults for much of the day,” he added.

Psychologist Jenni Trent Hughes said: “The answer is simply to be selfish and take some time out. After 21 years of running around after the family, pets, supermarket and the house, women have earned it.

“If you’re not taking care of your- self then how can you properly take care of anyone else?

“If you’re ratty or short-tempered, tired or at your wits’ end how can you possibly be the best you can be for your partner, children, family and last but definitely not least yourself?” (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ANI, answer, anyone, british adults, care, city, conclusion, conductance, control, cortisol, daily, daily express, day, degree, dr david lewis, end, equipment, Express, family, Family Pets, heart, heart rate, home, hormone, house, household, household chores, indicator, Jenni Trent Hughes, Junctures, key, list, London, Mindlab, Monitoring Equipment, Nurses, nursing, organisation, part, partner, period, pressure, Psychologist, rate, ratty, Research, saliva, self, September, skin, skin conductance, Specific Training, Stay At Home, Stay At Home Parents, stress, Stress Hormone Cortisol, stress levels, study, supermarket, taxi, Taxi Drivers, teaching, time, time-out, trading, training, U.K, Wits End, work, working, your

Biocon limited, Amylin pharmaceuticals enter global development agreement

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bangalore/ California Sep 11(ANI/Business Wire India): Biocon, Limited (NSE: BIOCON) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement to jointly develop, commercialize and manufacture a novel peptide therapeutic for the potential treatment of diabetes.

Amylin and Biocon will collaborate to develop the therapeutic potential of the compound and share development costs. Research will center on Amylin’s “phybrid” technology. A phybrid is a peptide hybrid molecule that combines the pharmacological effects of two peptide hormones into a single molecular entity.

Under the terms of the Development and Commercialization Agreement, Amylin will provide expertise in peptide hormone development, particularly in the area of phybrid technology, as well as metabolic disease therapeutics. Biocon will utilize its expertise in recombinant microbial expression to manufacture the compound and also leverage its experience in pre-clinical and clinical development of diabetes products.

“This agreement fully leverages the synergistic capabilities of the two companies,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon, Ltd. “Amylin’s knowledge of peptide therapeutics and their leadership in the diabetes market, paired with Biocon’s capabilities in process development, manufacturing and clinical development, provides this global program with the potential to effectively bring a novel therapy to patients living with diabetes.”

“This program could unleash the potential of cutting-edge peptide science to transform the lives of patients with diabetes,” said Daniel M. Bradbury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amylin Pharmaceuticals. “We are pleased to work with Biocon, a biologics innovator and world-class manufacturing expert, and look forward to collaborating with them on this exciting program.”

Amylin Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving lives through the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: agreement, AMLN, Amylin, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc, ANI, area, Bangalore, Biocon, Biocon Limited, biopharmaceutical company, business, California, center, chairman, Chief, chief executive officer, commercialization, company, compound, Daniel M. Bradbury, Development, diabetes, Diabetes Market, Diabetes Products, director, discovery, disease, entity, executive, experience, expert, expertise, expression, global program, hormone, inc, India, Innovator, Kiran Mazumdar-, knowledge, leadership, limited, Living With Diabetes, ltd, managing, manufacturing, market, Mazumdar, Metabolic Disease, microbial, Molecular Entity, molecule, nasdaq, novel, Novel Peptide, Novel Therapy, nse, officer, peptide, Peptide Hormone, Peptide Hormones, Peptide Science, Peptide Therapeutics, pharmaceuticals, pharmacological effects, phybrid, potential, president, process, program, Research, Science, Sep, share, Shaw, Technology, therapy, today, treatment, Treatment Of Diabetes, wire, World Class Manufacturing

Men’s sweat ‘boosts their attractiveness in the eyes of women’

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 11 (ANI): A naturally present chemical in men’s sweat may act as a primitive love potion that increases their attractiveness in women’s eyes, says a new study.

The substance is derived from the male sex hormone testosterone.

To reach the conclusion, Tamsin Saxton of the University of St Andrews studied the influence of androstadienone by dabbling a drop of it on the upper lip of 50 women who took part in the evening trial before they “dated” a series of men.

From analyses, researchers found that women of all ages rated the men slightly higher on a scale of attractiveness when given the substance, compared to water or clove oil, but the effect was greatest in younger women aged between 18 and 22, reports The Independent.

“For some of the women we gave them androstadienone and we put it in clove oil solution so they just smelt clove oil. Some of the women had clove oil alone, and the third group had just water so there was no odour at all,” she told the British Science Festival.

“We got the women to mark how attractive they thought the men were on a one to seven scale after they interacted with each man,” she said.

“We found that the women given androstadienone had given slightly higher ratings of attractiveness to the men. That suggested this constituent of sweat does seem to have some kind of impact on attraction,” she told the festival.

“Some people don’t seem to be able to smell it all, some people say it smells OK or a bit sweaty, whereas others say it smells really awful, like babies’ nappies,” Saxton said.

According to the expert, one hypothesis is that it could be a “pheromone”, or chemical messenger that acts between individuals in much the same way that hormones act as messengers within the body.

“It’s something that people investigate on the topic of pheromones. When you talk of animal pheromones, they are involved in very specific reactions,” Saxton said.

“People do value somebody’s natural skin smell and it’s worth bearing in mind that this may be part of your appeal – how you smell naturally,” she told the festival. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: andrews, androstadienone, ANI, animal, appeal, attraction, attractiveness, bearing, bit, body, British, British Science, chemical, chemical messenger, clove, Clove Oil, conclusion, constituent, drop, effect, evening, expert, festival, group, hormone, hormones, impact, independent, influence, kind, lip, London, love, Love Potion, male sex hormone, man, Men, messenger, Messengers, mind, Natural Skin, odour, oil, part, pheromone, pheromones, potion, saxton, scale, Science, science festival, Sept, series, Sex, skin, smell, solution, somebody, something, study, substance, sweat, talk, Tamsin Saxton, testosterone, third group, topic, trial, University, University of St. Andrews, upper lip, water, way, Younger Women

Cancer safety fears of most common heartburn treatment rejected

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 10 (ANI): The largest ever study on ‘Proton pump inhibitors’ (PPI)-the second most prescribed group of drugs for heartburn-has dismissed all fears about the cancer causing effects of the treatment.

PPI are the most commonly used treatment for chronic acid reflux, or ‘heartburn’, a painful burning sensation in the chest, neck and throat which is experienced by almost a third of people in developed countries.

Regular and prolonged heartburn is known to cause ‘benign oesophagitis’, a reversible inflammation of the gullet.

However if left untreated a condition called Barrett’s Oesophagus (BE) occurs in around 10 per cent of sufferers, which can in turn develop into a potentially fatal cancer called oesophageal adenocarcinoma.

While PPIs had an excellent safety record, it was unclear if long-term use of these drugs to reduce the discomfort of heartburn could increase the risk of developing either BE or the spread of the associated cancer.

But, the new research carried out at Queen Mary, University of London and Leicester Royal Infirmary, has given the most conclusive evidence yet that this is not the case.

Professor Janusz Jankowski, who co-authored the study, said: “This is one of the most detailed studies investigating both the laboratory and clinical side of proton pump inhibitor drugs. As a consequence we are now better able to inform patients of the good benefit/risk ratio of this commonly prescribed therapy.”

Tests carried out during the two-year study looked at tissue sampled from the oesophagus lining of ninety volunteers, each of whom were given PPI drugs at either a high or low dosage.

Researchers found that there was no difference in the rate at which BE developed, neither was there a change in the number of precancerous cells in either group.

Despite fears about how the treatments might affect people already suffering from BE, the study showed that there was no evidence that this led to any worsening of the condition or any extra incidences of cancer.

PPIs work by blocking the action of gastrin, a hormone that controls acid levels in the stomach, and is known to increase the normal movement of cells in the gastro-intestinal tract.

Since PPI therapy increases the levels of gastrin in the body, it had been thought this could cause expansion of BE affected tissue, but this was not found to be the case.

In fact, the scientists observed neither expansion nor contraction of the abnormal tissue.

The study has been published in the peer reviewed journal Gut. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: acid, action, adenocarcinoma, ANI, Barrett, benefit, body, burning, Burning Sensation In The Chest, cancer, case, Case Professor, cent, change, chest, chest neck, Chronic Acid Reflux, conclusive evidence, condition, consequence, contraction, difference, discomfort, dosage, evidence, expansion, fact, Fatal Cancer, Gastrin, group, gullet, gut, heartburn, Heartburn Treatment, hormone, Infirmary, inflammation, inhibitor, Jankowski, janusz, journal, Laboratory, leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, lining, London, movement, neck, number, oesophageal, oesophagus, peer, PPI, PPIs, Precancerous Cells, professor, proton, Proton Pump Inhibitor, Proton Pump Inhibitor Drugs, proton pump inhibitors, pump, Queen Mary, queen mary university, queen mary university of london, rate, ratio, record, reflux, Research, risk, Risk Ratio, royal, safety, Safety Fears, safety record, sensation, Sep, side, spread, stomach, study, tests, therapy, throat, tissue, tract, treatment, University, use, Washington, work, worsening

Fat-rich junk food may alter genes linked with type II diabetes

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 8 (ANI): A team of scientists in Sweden have warned that gorging too much on fat-rich junk food may cause drastic changes to a gene that helps muscle cells burn fat.

Juleen Zierath, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, says that her team’s findings may help improve the scientific understanding of how type II diabetes develops in adulthood.

“Somehow, the environment plays on the genes we have,” says the lead researcher, adding that her study provides new clues to how this happens.

She says that it may be possible that the altered cells become so engorged with unburnt fat that they become “diabetic”, and stop accepting signals from the hormone insulin, which normally triggers the absorption of glucose from the bloodstream.

However, proving that components in the diet can permanently alter genes is itself a breakthrough, as it provides the first evidence that the food people eat may change the function of their DNA, a process scientifically known as “epigenetics”.

During the study, the researchers observed that the DNA itself remained unchanged, except for a masking process called methylation that can permanently mothball a gene by capping individual chemical units or bases.

Before the researchers undertook this research, they had already found in a previous study that muscle cells from people with type II diabetes showed such telltale epigenetic alterations to their DNA, particularly in the PGC-1 gene, which orchestrates metabolic programmes critical to the burning of fat in mitochondria, the chambers in cells that generate energy.

In the current study, the researchers achieved the most significant result when they exposed the healthy muscle cells to the edible fatty acid, palmitic acid.

The team found that the PGC-1 gene became methylated, just as it is in people with diabetes.

“The palmitic acid essentially switches off the gene,” New Scientist magazine quoted Zierath as saying.

She says that the fact that fat produces such an effect is highly significant, as it means that over-consumption of junk food may cause the same response.

“It suggests that if you eat a fat-rich diet, something in that – either the fat itself or the build up of metabolites – triggers the methylation of genes. The net effect is that it switches off the gene,” says Zierath.

The team’s analyses also reveal that the shutdown of PGC-1 led to inactivation of other genes vital for burning or transporting fat.

Zierath says that her team’s next step will be to find out how different diets affect the methylation status of PGC-1 and other genes vital for burning energy, hoping that their efforts will lead to the discovery of a potential mechanism by which type II diabetes develops.

A research article on her study has been published in the journal Cell Metabolism. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: absorption, acid, adulthood, alterations, ANI, Article, bloodstream, breakthrough, burning, cell, chemical, diabetes, diet, discovery, dna, drastic changes, effect, energy, environment, Epigenetics, evidence, fact, Fat-rich, fatty, Fatty Acid, first evidence, food, function, gene, genes, glucose, hormone, Hormone Insulin, inactivation, institute, insulin, journal, Juleen, junk, junk food, karolinska, karolinska institute in stockholm, London, magazine, mechanism, metabolism, methylation, mitochondria, mothball, muscle, muscle cells, New, New Scientist magazine, Palmitic Acid, pgc, process, Research, researcher, response, result, scientist, September, shutdown, something, status, step, Stockholm, study, Sweden, team, type, type ii diabetes, unburnt, understanding, Zierath

Transsexual killer wins right to be in women’s prison

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 5 (ANI): A transsexual killer, who attempted to rape a female shop assistant, is moving to a women’s prison after getting the green light from a judge.

The 27-year-old won an argument in the court when it was ruled that keeping her in a men’s prison breached her human rights.

The murderer, named only as ‘A’, was given a life sentence for crimes committed while a man, reports the Sun.

She was sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter after strangling a boyfriend with a pair of tights. Some time later her release, she tried to rape a woman shop assistant after tying her with a suspender belt.

‘A’, who grew breasts after undergoing hormone treatment and wears skirts and make-up in her cell, has also been allowed to have full sex-change surgery, from which she was previously banned while in a male prison.

Deputy Judge David Elvin QC said ‘A’ had endured gender dysphoria from an early age, and Justice Secretary Jack Straw’s decision to keep her in a male prison breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

Attorneys said ‘A’ was “a woman trapped in a man’s body” and the ruling “gave her hope”. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: age, ANI, argument, assistant, attorneys, belt, body, boyfriend, breasts, cell, convention, Court, crimes, decision, Deputy Judge David Elvin QC, dysphoria, Elvin, European, European Convention On Human Rights, gender, Gender Dysphoria, hormone, hormone treatment, human, Jack Straw, jail, judge, judge david, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, killer, life, life sentence, light, London, Male Prison, man, manslaughter, moving, murderer, pair, prison, Qc, rape, Rape Woman, release, right, rights, ruling, sentence, September, sex change surgery, shop, Skirts, Sun, surgery, suspender, Suspender Belt, time, transsexual, treatment, woman

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

August 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Weight-loss surgery can help eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in nearly 80 percent patients, an international study has found.

The research team led by Professor Henry Buchwald of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, observed almost 135,000 patients for the study.

The findings concluded that 78 per cent patients had a “complete resolution” of diabetes for up to two years post-surgery, while 87 either saw resolution or noted an improvement in their condition, reports Timesonline.

Type 2 diabetes is common to obese people and occurs when the body stops producing or using insulin, the hormone that maintains the sugar level in blood.

Losing weight can help the body to efficiently use available insulin, and thus prevent kidney failure, nerve damage and eye problems.

The weight-loss surgery, medically known as the bariatric surgery, or the gastric-band operation, fits a band around the upper part of the stomach, restricting the amount people can eat before feeling full. Though the operation can benefit diabetes patients, it is advised only for the very obese, who’ve failed to lose weight otherwise.

But charity Diabetes UK is a little sceptical about the findings of the research.

Zoë Harrison, care adviser for the charity, said: “Although the data shows good results from bariatric surgery, it must be remembered that any surgery carries serious risks.

“Bariatric surgery should be considered only as a last resort. It can lead to dramatic weight loss, which in turn may result in a reduction in people taking their type 2 diabetes medication, and even in some people needing no medication at all. This does not mean type 2 diabetes has been cured.

“These people will still need to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be physically active to manage their diabetes.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: adviser, amount, ANI, Aug, band, Bariatric, blood, body, Buchwald, care, Care Adviser, cent, charity, condition, damage, department, diabetes, diabetes patients, Diabetes Symptoms, Diabetes Uk, diet, Dramatic Weight Loss, eye, eye problems, failure, gastric band, healthy balanced diet, hormone, improvement, insulin, kidney, kidney failure, last resort, level, London, losing, losing weight, loss, medication., minneapolis, minnesota, nerve, nerve damage, obese, operation, part, percent, Professor Henry, Professor Henry Buchwald, reduction, Research, resolution, resort, stomach, study, sugar, Sugar Level, surgery, Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes, team, timesonline, turn, type, type 2 diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes Medication, University, university of minnesota minneapolis, weight, weight loss, Weight Loss Surgery, Zoë Harrison

Men with high testosterone levels ‘more likely to have multiple wives’

August 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Men with high testosterone levels are more likely to have multiple wives, according to a new study.

They also give less attention to their kids.

High testosterone levels have been linked to increased sexual activity, infidelity and marital conflict. However, after men become fathers, their bodies typically pump out less of the hormone.

“This is good for us, so we can adapt to social challenges very quickly,” New Scientist quoted Alexandra Alvergne, an anthropologist at the University of Montpellier, France, and the University of Sheffield, UK, who led the new study, as saying.

In the study involving rural Senegalese villagers, the researchers underscored testosterone’s critical role in a mating and parenting.

Lead researcher Alexandra Alvergne, an anthropologist at the University of Montpellier, France, and the University of Sheffield, UK measured testosterone levels in 21 polygynous fathers as well as 32 monogamous dads and 28 unmarried men without children.

The researchers also asked the men’s wives about the time and money their husband spent to the family.

The findings revealed that no matter how many wives they had, fathers had lower testosterone levels than single men, on average.

It also showed that among fathers, those with more testosterone tended to invest less time in their wives and children.

And polygynous men under the age of 50 produced more testosterone than monogamous men, on average.

According to Alvergne, older men with more than one wife made less of the sex hormone than other men. While older men may make less testosterone, they typically enjoy more prestige in their villages, which could make it easier to find multiple wives.

The study appears in journal Hormones and Behavior. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: activity, age, Alexandra Alvergne, ANI, anthropologist, attention, Aug, average, behavior, conflict, critical role, family, France, High, high testosterone levels, hormone, hormones, hormones and behavior, husband, infidelity, journal, journal hormones and behavior, London, Marital Conflict, mating, matter, Men, MONEY, Montpellier, Montpellier France, Multiple Wives, New, New Scientist, older men, parenting, prestige, researcher, role, scientist, Senegalese, Sex, sex hormone, sexual activity, sheffield, single men, Social Challenges, study, testosterone, time, U.K, University, University Of Montpellier, university of sheffield, University Of Sheffield Uk, Unmarried Men, wife

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

August 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Weight-loss surgery can help eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in nearly 80 percent patients, an international study has found.

The research team led by Professor Henry Buchwald of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, observed almost 135,000 patients for the study.

Type 2 diabetes is common to obese people and occurs when the body stops producing or using insulin, the hormone that maintains the sugar level in blood.

Losing weight can help the body to efficiently use available insulin, and thus prevent kidney failure, nerve damage and eye problems.

But charity Diabetes UK is a little sceptical about the findings of the research.

Zoë Harrison, care adviser for the charity, said: “Although the data shows good results from bariatric surgery, it must be remembered that any surgery carries serious risks.

“These people will still need to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be physically active to manage their diabetes.” (ANI)

Hormone therapy ups death risk for prostate cancer patients with heart disease

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 26 (ANI): Prostate cancer patients, who also suffer from heart conditions, have increased death risk if they undergo hormone therapy, revealed a study led by an Indian-origin scientist.

Dr. Akash Nanda, from Boston, has found that when men with coronary artery disease-induced congestive heart failure or heart attack receive hormone therapy before or along with radiation therapy for treatment of prostate cancer, they have an associated increased risk of death.

His study report says that patients with localized prostate cancer have several options available for treatment, including the use of brachytherapy (treatment in which radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate), both as monotherapy and in conjunction with external beam radiation therapy.

Neoadjuvant (treatment that is given before or with the primary treatment) hormonal therapy (HT) is used as a means for prostate gland cytoreduction (decrease in number of cells, as in a tumor) in order to eliminate pubic arch (an arch formed by the pubic bones) interference and improve the ability to perform brachytherapy.

Previous research has suggested that “hormonal therapy, when added to radiation therapy (RT) for treating unfavorable-risk prostate cancer, leads to an increase in survival except possibly in men with moderate to severe comorbidity [co-existing illnesses]. However, it is unknown which comorbid conditions eliminate this survival benefit,” the authors write.

Dr. Nanda his colleagues assessed whether neoadjuvant HT use in men with prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy affects the risk of all-cause death of men with known coronary artery disease-induced conditions, including congestive heart failure and heart attack.

The researchers conducted the study on 5,077 men (median [midpoint] age, 69.5 years) with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer who were treated with or without a median of 4 months of neoadjuvant HT followed by RT between 1997 and 2006 and were followed up until July 2008.

They found that during the study period, 419 men died, out of which, 200 had no underlying comorbidity, 176 had one coronary artery disease risk factor, and 43 had a history of known coronary artery disease resulting in congestive heart failure or heart attack.

The researchers said that the analyses of the data indicated that “when considering comorbidity groups separately, neoadjuvant HT use was not associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in men with no comorbidity or a single coronary artery disease risk factor after median follow-ups of 5.0 years and 4.4 years, respectively.”

But, for men with coronary artery disease-induced congestive heart failure or heart attack, after a median follow-up of 5.1 years, neoadjuvant HT use was associated with nearly twice the risk of all-cause mortality.

“The clinical significance of this finding is that for men with favorable-risk prostate cancer and a history of congestive heart failure or myocardial infarction who require neoadjuvant HT solely to eliminate pubic arch interference, alternative strategies such as active surveillance or treatment with external beam radiation therapy or prostatectomy should be considered.

“However, for men with unfavourable-risk prostate cancer who require HT in addition to radiation therapy to take advantage of its survival benefit, appropriate medical evaluation prior to initiation should facilitate clinicians in balancing the relative risks against the benefits of HT use,” said the researchers

The study has been published in the latest issue of JAMA. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ability, addition, advantage, age, Akash, ANI, artery, attack, Aug, beam, benefit, boston, brachytherapy, cancer, Cause Death, comorbid, Comorbid Conditions, comorbidity, congestive heart failure, conjunction, coronary artery disease, cytoreduction, death, death risk, disease, Dr. Akash, Dr. Nanda, evaluation, External Beam Radiation, factor, failure, gland, heart, heart conditions, heart failure, history, hormonal, hormone, increase, indian origin, infarction, initiation, interference, issue, JAMA, July, means, median, midpoint, monotherapy, mortality, myocardial, nanda, neoadjuvant, number, order, period, prostate, Prostate Cancer, prostate cancer patients, prostate gland, prostatectomy, radiation, radiation therapy, Radioactive Seeds, report, Research, risk, scientist, significance, study, surveillance, survival, survival benefit, therapy, treatment, treatment of prostate cancer, tumor, use, Washington

Long-term tamoxifen use may up aggressive breast cancer risk

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 26 (ANI): Tamoxifen drug, commonly used for treating breast cancer, can actually increase the severity of the disease, finds a new study.

The researchers showed that long-term tamoxifen use increases risk of an aggressive, hard to treat type of second breast cancer.

Lead researcher Dr Christopher Li at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre compared the breast-cancer patients who received the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen to those who did not and found that while the drug was associated with a 60 percent reduction in estrogen receptor-positive, or ER positive, second breast cancer – the more common type, which is responsive to estrogen-blocking therapy – it also appeared to increase the risk of ER negative second cancer by 440 percent.

“This is of concern, given the poorer prognosis of ER-negative tumors, which are also more difficult to treat,” said Li.

The findings from the new study supports Li’s earlier research suggesting a link between long-term tamoxifen use and an increased risk of ER-negative second cancers.

“The earlier study had a number of limitations. For example, we did not have information on the duration of tamoxifen therapy the women received,” said Li.

“The current study is larger, is based on much more detailed data, and is the first study specifically designed to determine whether tamoxifen use among breast cancer survivors influences their risk of different types of second breast cancers,” the expert added.

However, Li insists that while the study confirmed a strong association between long-term tamoxifen therapy and an increased risk of ER-negative second cancer, it does not suggest that breast cancer survivors should stop taking hormone therapy to prevent a second cancer.

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Research. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ANI, association, Aug, breast, breast cancer, breast cancer patients, breast cancer risk, breast cancer survivors, breast cancers, cancer, cancer research centre, centre, Christopher Li, concern, disease, dr christopher, Dr Christopher Li, drug, Drug Tamoxifen, duration, earlier research, ER-negative, estrogen, Estrogen Receptor, example, expert, Fred Hutchinson Cancer, fred hutchinson cancer research, hormone, hormone therapy, information, journal, journal cancer, Li, link, number, percent, prognosis, reduction, Research, researcher, risk, severity, Strong Association, study, tamoxifen, therapy, tumors, type, use, Washington

Regulation of ‘short stature’ gene crucial for growth in kids

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 26 (ANI): A team of researchers in Germany have found that not only a gene called SHOX is involved in the development of short stature, but sequences of genetic material on the X and Y chromosome that regulate it are also crucial for growth in children.

Professor Gudrun Rappold, the Director of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics at Heidelberg University Hospital, points out that these gene regulators determine how frequently a gene is copied, and, thus, how effective it is.

In many cases, she says, the mutation of one regulatory sequence of the SHOX gene is sufficient to give rise to the full-blown syndrome.

Publishing their results in the Journal of Medical Genetics, she and her colleagues have said that their findings may open up new possibilities for diagnosing the cause of short stature, and initiating treatment before it is too late.

According to background information in the report, the SHOX gene (short stature homeobox gene) is responsible for the normal growth of bones, and is often mutated in short-stature patients-no more than 160 cm of final height in men, and 150 cm in women.

Hormone disorders, malnutrition, chronic disease, or a genetic disorder are some of the causes of short stature. If, in addition to short stature, other symptoms such as short forearms and lower legs or other bone malformations also occur, it is considered a syndrome.

However, often no exact cause can be determined and other typical features are lacking – this is then known as idiopathic short stature.

In 2007, a research team led by Professor Rappold found that in over 4 percent of children with idiopathic short stature, the trigger for the disorder was a mutation in the SHOX gene. er latest study has shown that not only the gene itself, but its regulators as well can be crucial for developing the disease.

During the study, the researchers examined the genetic material from a total of 893 subjects.

About 5 percent of the patients with idiopathic short stature, and 80 percent of the patients with Leri-Weill syndrome, had mutations in the segment either including or around the SHOX gene.

The researchers said that some patients had an intact SHOX gene, but an unexpectedly high number of mutations in its enhancer sequences: for 26 percent of patients with SHOX deficiency and idiopathic short stature and for 45 percent of patients with SHOX deficiency and Leri-Weill syndrome, the disease could be attributed solely to a genetic mutation of the enhancer sequence.

“The astounding thing is that this enhancer mutation is quite far away from the affected gene and yet it still leads to the exact same clinical symptoms as a mutation in the gene itself,” said Professor Rappold.

The researchers hope that their results will give them a better understanding of the causes of the disease, and allow them to optimise the diagnostic possibilities for patients with SHOX gene mutations.

“Patients who suffer from their short stature often have a great need to be able to name the cause. Even if it is not possible to treat the cause, patients with mutations of the SHOX gene can benefit from a treatment of the symptoms with growth hormones,” said Professor Rappold. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ''cause, addition, ANI, August, background, background information, bone, chromosome, Chronic Disease, deficiency, department, Development, director, disease, disorder, enhancer, Exact Cause, Forearms, gene, genetic disorder, genetic material, genetics, Germany, growth, Gudrun, Heidelberg, heidelberg university, height, homeobox, hormone, Hormone Disorders, hospital, human, human genetics, Human Molecular Genetics, information, journal, Journal Of Medical Genetics, Leri, malnutrition, material, medical, molecular, mutation, need, number, optimise, percent, Professor Gudrun Rappold, Professor Rappold, publishing, regulation, regulators, report, Research, rise, segment, sequence, sequences, Short Stature, SHOX, stature, study, syndrome, team, thing, total, treatment, trigger, Typical Features, understanding, University, Washington, Weill, X And Y Chromosome

Women with high testosterone levels more likely to choose risky careers

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): Women with high testosterone levels are more likely to make risky career choices, according to a new study.

Previous studies have shown that testosterone enhances competitiveness and dominance, reduces fear, and is associated with risky behaviours like gambling and alcohol use.

However, until now, the impact of testosterone on gender differences in financial risk-taking has not been explored.

“In general, women are more risk averse than men when it comes to making important financial decisions, which in turn can affect their career choices,” said Paola Sapienza, Associate Professor,Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

“For example, in our sample set, 36 percent of female MBA students chose high-risk financial careers such as investment banking or trading, compared to 57 percent of male students.

“We wanted to explore whether these gender differences are related to testosterone, which men have, on average, in higher concentrations than women,” Sapienza added.

The study showed that higher levels of testosterone were associated with a greater appetite for risk in women, but not among men.

However, in men and women with similar levels of testosterone, the gender difference in risk aversion disappeared.

Additionally, the researchers reported that the link between risk aversion and testosterone predicted career choices after graduation: individuals who were high in testosterone and low in risk aversion chose riskier careers in finance.

“This is the first study showing that gender differences in financial risk aversion have a biological basis, and that differences in testosterone levels between individuals can affect important aspects of economic behavior and career decisions,” said Maestripieri.

“That the effects of testosterone on risk aversion are strongest for individuals with low or intermediate levels of this hormone is similar to what has been shown for the effects of testosterone on spatial cognition.”

The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: academy, alcohol, ANI, appetite, associate, Aug, averse, aversion, banking, basis, behavior, behaviours, biological basis, career, career choices, Career Decisions, Careers In Finance, cognition, competitiveness, difference, dominance, Economic Behavior, example, fear, finance, Financial Careers, financial decisions, Financial Risk, gambling, gender, gender difference, Gender Differences, graduation, high testosterone levels, hormone, impact, Intermediate Levels, investment, Investment Banking, kellogg, Kellogg School Of Management, link, Maestripieri, male students, management, mba, Mba Students, national, northwestern, Northwestern University, Paola Sapienza, percent, PNAS, proceedings, professor, risk, Risk Aversion, risk-taking, sample, school, spatial, study, testosterone, trading, turn, University, use, Washington, Women

Different types of booze impact desire for food differently

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, August 25 (ANI): The type of alcoholic drink you consume may have an impact on your desire for food, suggests an Australian study.

Dr. Anna Kokavec, a research psychologist at La Trobe University in Bendigo, found that the additional nutritional content of various alcoholic beverages influence the body’s reaction to alcohol, reports ABC Science.

The lead author, along with her team, measured the effect of red wine, white wine, light beer or regular beer on the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, which is responsible for the synthesis of the steroid hormones cortisol and dehyrdoepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS).

Kokavec said that DHEAS and cortisol, commonly known as a stress hormone, influence appetite, adding: “We need a sufficient release of cortisol to make us feel hungry.”

She found that cortisol levels went down in participants after the consumption of alcohol, and decreased their appetite despite having fasted for half a day.

But DHEAS levels varied depending on what type of alcohol was consumed.

The DHEAS levels initially took a dip for those who took beer before going up, resulting in an eventual increase in hunger.

Kokavec said: “Beer completely confuses the system.”

Consumption of red wine was also observed to have led to an increased appetite.

But, unlike beer and red wine, white wine completely switched off the HPA axis, indicating hunger remained low.

The study has been published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: abc, abc science, adrenal, alcohol, alcoholic beverages, alcoholic drink, ANI, appetite, August, author, beer, behaviour, Bendigo, biochemistry, body, booze, consumption, content, cortisol, cortisol levels, day, dehyrdoepiandrosterone, desire, DHEAS, dip, Dr. Anna Kokavec, drink, effect, food, Half A Day, hormone, hpa, Hpa Axis, hunger, impact, increase, influence, journal, La Trobe University, Light Beer, Melbourne, nutritional content, pharmacology, Psychologist, reaction, red wine, release, Research, Research Psychologist, Science, steroid, Steroid Hormones, stress, stress hormone, study, Sulfate, synthesis, system, team, Trobe, type, University, white wine, wine

Clues to gigantism provided by family in Borneo Mountains

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 22 (ANI): An indigenous family living in a mountainous area of Malaysian Borneo has helped Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists to discover information about genetic mutations associated with acromegaly, a form of gigantism that often results in enlarged hands, feet, and facial features.

The information could lead to better screening for the disease, which most often results from a benign pituitary gland tumor that can be deadly if left untreated, but which is difficult to detect until later stages when features become pronounced.

Researchers located a 31-member aboriginal family that included individuals with acromegaly living in a mountainous region of Borneo, Malaysia, when the effects of the family patriarch’s growing pituitary tumor necessitated medical treatment.

A medical team including VARI Distinguished Scientific Investigator Bin Tean Teh, and staff from the Department of Medicine at the University of Malaya Medical Centre and the Department of Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Malaysia subsequently traveled to the family’s village several times to collect blood samples for testing.

“Researchers had recently found a mutation in the AIP gene associated with acromegaly, but we found that several family members who didn’t have visible symptoms of acromegaly had this mutation as well,” said Dr. The.

“This increases the importance of screening for families with cases of acromegaly since anyone could be a carrier. On one side of the family, at least two generations carried the gene before someone showed any symptoms,” he added.

The later stages of acromegaly often produce enlarged hands and feet, protruding brows and lower jaws, thick voice and slowed speech from swelling of vocal cords, and other symptoms.

When diagnosed, the tumor and entire pituitary gland are usually removed, followed by hormone therapy for the rest of the patient’s life. owever, because the progression of the disease is so gradual, it is difficult to detect. If left unchecked, patients can die from complications such as heart or kidney failure.

Sok Kean Khoo, VARI Research Scientist and lead author of the study, led researchers in scanning DNA in the family’s blood to find other factors that might explain why only some family members with the genetic mutation had visible symptoms of the disease.

They found regions on a few chromosomes that might lead to further insight.The sooner we know how and why people are affected differently by this disease, the sooner we can help families who have it,” said Dr. Teh. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Aboriginal, Acromegaly, AIP, Andel, ANI, anyone, area, August, author, bin, blood, blood samples, Borneo Mountains, brows, carrier, centre, clues, department, disease, distinguished, dna, Dr Teh, Dr. The, Elizabeth, facial features, failure, family, Family Patriarch, form, gene, Genetic Mutations, gigantism, gland, heart, hormone, hospital, importance, information, insight, institute, investigator, kean, Khoo, kidney, life, Malaya, Malaysia, Malaysian Borneo, medical, Medical Team, medicine, member, mountainous area, mountainous region, mutation, owever, patient, patriarch, Pituitary Gland Tumor, Pituitary Tumor, progression, queen, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, region, Research, rest, scientific, Scientific Investigator, scientist, screening, side, Sok, someone, speech, staff, study, team, tean, testing, therapy, treatment, tumor, two generations, University, University Of Malaya Medical Centre, van, Van Andel Research Institute, VARI, village, Visible Symptoms, Vocal Cords, voice, Washington

Acupuncture, exercise may help women with polycystic ovary syndrome

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 21 (ANI): Acupuncture and exercise can bring relief to women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a new study.

Nearly 10pct of women of reproductive age suffer from PCOS. The syndrome expresses itself as a large number of small immature cysts on the ovaries that cause a disturbance in the production of hormones and an increase in the secretion of the male sex hormone.

Many women with the condition do not ovulate normally, and the syndrome may lead to infertility.

“We do not know for certain what causes the condition, despite it being so common. We have seen that women with the syndrome often have high activity in that part of the nervous system that we cannot consciously control, known as the ‘sympathetic nervous system,’” said lead researcher Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

“We believe that this may be an important underlying factor in the syndrome,” she added.

During the study, one group of women with polycystic ovary syndrome received a specific type of acupuncture called “electro-acupuncture” for four months.

In this type of acupuncture, the needles are stimulated with a weak low-frequency electric current, similar to that developed during muscular work.

A second group of women were provided with heart rate monitors and instructed to exercise at least three times a week.

The study showed that activity in the sympathetic nervous system was lower in the women who received acupuncture and in those who took regular exercise than it was in the control group.

The acupuncture treatment brought further benefits.

“Those who received acupuncture found that their menstruation became more normal,” she said.

“We could also see that their levels of testosterone became significantly lower, and this is an important observation, since elevated testosterone levels are closely connected with the increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system of women”, she added.

The study appears in American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: academy, activity, Acupuncture, Acupuncture Needles, Acupuncture Treatment, age, American, ANI, Aug, cannot, Comparative, condition, control, control group, Cysts On The Ovaries, disturbance, Electro Acupuncture, Elisabet Stener-, exercise, factor, Gothenburg, gothenburg sweden, group, group of women, heart, Heart Rate Monitors, hormone, immature, increase, infertility, Integrative, journal, least three times, low frequency, male sex hormone, menstruation, number, observation, Ovary, ovulate, part, PCOS, pct, physiology, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, production, rate, regulatory, relief, researcher, sahlgrenska, Second Group, secretion, Sex, Stener, study, Sweden, sympathetic nervous system, syndrome, system, testosterone, Testosterone Levels, the, treatment, type, University, university of gothenburg, victorin, Washington, week, work

Enzyme key to ageing identified

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 11 (ANI): Scientists from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the process of aging.

Lead researcher Dr. Abbe de Vallejo, associate professor of Paediatrics and Immunology, has found that eliminating pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPPA) enzyme increases the lifespan of study mice.

The researcher revealed that PAPPA enzyme has the ability to promote a robust immune system into old age, by maintaining the function of the thymus throughout life.

Thymus is the organ that produces T cells to fight disease and infection. It degenerates with age.

The study showed that PAPPA-knockout mice live at least 30 percent longer, and have significantly lower occurrence of spontaneous tumours than typical mice.

PAPPA controls the availability in tissues of a hormone known as insulin-like growth factor (IGF) that is a promoter of cell division. Hence, IGF is required for normal embryonic and postnatal growth.

IGF is associated with tumour growth, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease in adults.

By deleting PAPPA, the researchers were able to control the availability of IGF in tissues and dampen its many ill effects.

In the thymus, deletion of PAPPA maintained just enough IGF to sustain production of T cells without consuming precursor cells, thereby preventing the degeneration of the thymus.

“Controlling the availability of IGF in the thymus by targeted manipulation of PAPPA could be a way to maintain immune protection throughout life,” de Vallejo said.

“This study has profound implications for the future study of healthy aging and longevity,” de Vallejo added.

The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ability, academy, age, aging, ANI, availability, cell, consuming, controlling, degeneration, deletion, disease, division, Dr. Abbe de Vallejo, enzyme, factor, function, growth, Healthy Aging, hormone, IGF, ill effects, Immune Protection, immunology, infection, inflammation, Insulin Like Growth Factor, July, knockout mice, life, lifespan, longevity, manipulation, medicine, national, National Academy of Sciences, occurrence, organ, paediatrics, PAPPA, PAPPA-knockout, percent, Pittsburgh, pittsburgh school, plasma, Plasma Protein, postnatal, Postnatal Growth, precursor, precursor cells, proceedings, proceedings of the national academy, proceedings of the national academy of sciences, process, production, professor, profound implications, promoter, protection, protein, researcher, role, school, school of medicine, study, system, t-cells, Thymus, tumour, tumours, University, university of pittsburgh school of medicine, Washington, way

How a plant hormone is crucial in controlling root growth

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 8 (ANI): An international group of scientists, led by the Centre for Plant Integrative Biology at The University of Nottingham, UK, has shed light on how a plant hormone is crucial in controlling the growth of plant roots.

Plant growth is driven by an increase in two factors: the number of cells, and their size.

It is already known that the plant hormone gibberellin controls how root cells elongate as the root grows in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Now, a new research has described for the first time how this hormone also regulates the number of cells in the root in order to control root growth.

Gibberellin normally acts by signaling the removal of proteins which repress growth, and so promotes root cell production.

The new research shows that mutant plants that do not produce gibberellin are unable to increase their cell production rate and the size of the root meristem, the zone of cell proliferation.

Plants in which the cells in the meristem were made to express a mutant version of the growth-repressing protein GAI not degraded by gibberellin showed disrupted cell proliferation.

Expressing this mutant form, gai, in only one tissue, the endodermis (the innermost layer of the root cortex of a plant), was sufficient to stop the meristem enlarging.

In effect, the rate of expansion of dividing endodermal cells dictates the equivalent rate in other tissues.

According to Professor Malcolm Bennett, Biology Director for the Centre for Plant Integrative Biology and Professor of Plant Sciences in the Division of Plant and Crop Sciences, “We have shown that gibberellin plays a crucial role in controlling the size of the root meristem, and that it is the endodermis which sets the pace for expansion rates in the other tissues.”

“Understanding precisely how hormones regulate plant growth is one of the key areas of fundamental plant biology which will underpin crop improvements in the future,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ANI, Arabidopsis, biology, cell, centre, cortex, crop, director, division, effect, endodermal, equivalent, expansion, expressing, form, future, Gai, gibberellin, group, growth, hormone, increase, innermost, Integrative, July, layer, London, meristem, model, nottingham, number, order, pace, plant, plants, production, Professor Malcolm Bennett, proliferation, protein, rate, removal, Research, role, root, size, thaliana, time, tissue, U.K, understanding, University, version, zone

Weight gain in adulthood linked to prostate cancer risk

Fat-rich junk food may alter genes linked with type II diabetes

Transsexual killer wins right to be in women’s prison

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

Hormone therapy ups death risk for prostate cancer patients with heart disease

Long-term tamoxifen use may up aggressive breast cancer risk

Regulation of ‘short stature’ gene crucial for growth in kids

Women with high testosterone levels more likely to choose risky careers

Different types of booze impact desire for food differently

Clues to gigantism provided by family in Borneo Mountains

Enzyme key to ageing identified

Search More News

Technology News

Ads