Tag Archive for: genes

The Genetics of Smoking

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The study I’m examining this week is profound for a number of reasons. Identifying the genes that are affected by direct contact with the toxins in cigarette smoke provides one piece of a very complex puzzle. For example, they showed the difference in genetic mutations in the same type of tumors between smokers and non-smokers. The smokers had the genetic mutations while the non-smokers didn’t. So why did they get that type of cancer? That’s why I said it’s one piece of a puzzle. There are undoubtedly other factors involved.

With the information that . . .

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Smoking and Cancer Update

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A fascinating research paper was recently published in which researchers compared the genetic mutations found in 14 different types of tumors from chronic cigarette smokers and those who never smoked. They were attempting to see the differences in the genetic damage that occurred in tumors from the same organs between people who smoked and those who had never smoked. While they occur less frequently in non-smokers, some types of lung cancers still occur in those who never smoke.

This was complicated research to say the least. The research group had developed an algorithm that would look at over 90 . . .

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I’m Alive V2.47

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If you’re a long-time reader, this message may be familiar. Whenever I have a message scheduled for May 10th, I always use an updated version of the same message: 47 years ago today, my dad died at the age of 41. From the time I turned 41, every day I wake up on May 10th, I believe I have at least another year to live. It makes absolutely no sense, but it’s what I feel.

I didn’t know my dad well; my parents were divorced when I was very young. He could have seen me any . . .

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Trial and Answer for Your Health

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We are alive today because our ancestors survived. That seems like stating the obvious, but think about it for a minute. They ate whatever gave them fuel to stay alive and didn’t kill them. It was trial and error, and I’m guessing many died from eating the wrong things. They experienced times of feast and times of famine. They ate what was available whether it was meat, roots, berries, greens, or whatever. They learned to grow food, both plants and animals. Their diets ranged from high-fat and protein like the Inuit to the plant-based diets of . . .

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We Adapt

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In a recent paper in the magazine Nature, researchers compared the genes of a group of Inuit Indians, Europeans, and Chinese. As you might expect, there are many similarities. We’re all human, after all. But there were some specific differences, including an area in the genes related to the way the Inuit processed fat and the hormones they produce and how it contributes to height and weight.

The typical Inuit diet involves high amounts of fatty fish, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and protein; they don’t have access to many vegetables or fruit. We would expect this . . .

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