That's Fit

Do you sometimes feel like marriage problems are inevitable? They might be -- recent studies show that marriage problems have been linked to a specific gene variation in males. The gene variation, involved in brain signaling, affected the ability to mate for life in rodents and experts believe that it may produce similar results in humans, based on findings that showed that men with the gene were more likely to be unhappy in their relationships.

Still, don't let these findings get you down. Marriage is hard but a little compassion, understanding and quality time goes a long way. Our Life Fit expert Laura Lewis has some valuable tips on how to make love last -- check them out!

Genetics may be to blame for hooking some people on cigarettes. Genetics may make some smokers more prone to lung cancer too, say three new studies. This is the strongest case so far for the biological foundation of nicotine addiction.

Scientists have pinpointed genetic variations related to smoking that could one day lead to screening tests and customized treatments for those trying to kick the habit.

The gene variations, which govern nicotine receptors on cells, could help explain some of the mysteries of chain smoking, nicotine addiction, and lung cancer -- like why a 90-year-old lifetime smoker never gets cancer, why some people can occasionally light up and never get hooked, and why some people have such a hard time quitting.

Initially, researchers are pretty certain that a smoker who inherits these genetic variations from both parents has an 80 percent greater chance of lung cancer than a smoker without the variants. That same smoker tends to light up two extra cigarettes a day and has a much harder time quitting than smokers who don't have these genetic differences.

The three studies, funded by U.S. and European governments and published Thursday in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics, looked at more than 35,000 white people of European descent in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Blacks and Asians will be studied soon.

According to new research, people who habitually overeat may be able to lay part of the blame on their genes -- and their dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in our brains that largely affects our behaviour, and up to 50% of the population may have a gene variation that alters their levels of dopamine and subsequently causes us to get more pleasure from eating.

This conclusion was the result of testing that monitored how willing to work for food people were compared with whether or not they had a certain gene variation that affected their dopamine levels.

So does this mean that regulating Dopamine through drugs will help curb obesity? Perhaps, but don't hold your breath -- nothing's available yet. And remember -- there's no magic pill that can duplicate the benefits of a moderation and exercise.

Genes are starting to show up in the medical news in abundance these days, and MIT researchers said this past week that a gene already associated with longer life span may also be linked to a lower cholesterol levels in the body as well.

The gene was connected to a pathway that clears cholesterol from the body, and the researchers stated that this finding could pave the way for more effective drugs that lower the risk of diseases like atherosclerosis (clogged arteries).

The identified gene, called SIRT1, causes 'good' cholesterol (the HDL kind) to actually flush away bad cholesterol buildup by using a 'cellular pathway' as the activating mechanism.

Have you ever enviously watched a thin friend, family member or spouse chow down on a decadent dessert while you sip a cup of bitter coffee and wish you didn't have to watch your weight? Have you wondered whey they're so lucky? The answer may be genetic.

A team of researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have found what they believe may be a "skinny" gene. Dubbed "adipose" by a Yale University student who originally discovered it over 5 decades ago, the gene exists in a range of animals and research shows that its presence causes fruit flies, worms, mice and even human cells to bulk up. That's great news for those that carry the gene in times of famine but not-so-great during times of plenty.

According to the article, researchers hope that one day the gene can be used to help develop a cure or treatment for obesity, but until then we all have to keep eating well and working out. Remember too that skinny doesn't necessarily equal healthy so even if you can eat anything you want and not gain weight, a balanced diet with moderate exercise is the way to stay fit.

The world is made for right-handed people. Computers, doors, notepads, even kitchen appliances are made for righties, and I can't complain, being one of them. But sometimes I try to imagine what it would be like to have to use my other hand for everything else. It's obviously not impossible -- just a bit frustrating, I imagine. 1 in 10 people are left-handed.

CNN recently published a few findings about left-handed people:

• It's genetic -- two left-handed people have a 26% chance of having a lefty child, while two right-handed people only have a 9% chance of having a lefty
• Researchers at Oxford have realized that there is a specific gene associated with being a lefty. And it's the same gene that is associated with schizophrenia
• A recent Dutch study showed that left-handed women are at a higher risk for cancer, strokes and arterial damage
• An Australian study shows that left-handed people are quicker at computer games and sports.

What do you think? Do these studies have merit?

Researchers have discovered a fountain of youth, in a manner of speaking, for the fruit fly. At first you're probably thinking why on earth would we want longer living flies? The good news is that the researchers were able to extend the lifespan of fruit flies by modifying only one genetic protein, which means inhibiting the aging process in humans may be much simpler than previously thought.

Fruit flies with the modified gene saw 1/3 longer lifespans with no apparent side-effects (although measuring side-effects in a fruit fly can't be easy or very accurate), so if the same were true for humans we could all theoretically live to around the 110-120 yr old range regularly.

Cool or scary? A little of both, I think.

For some people "going to bed early" is just not a phrase in their vocabulary. Trying to get to sleep early before the first day of classes or the start of a new job is something that seems impossible. It's the curse of the night owl. Most of the world works on a single clock, and that clock is not beneficial to those of us who would love to get 8 hours of sleep, but can only seem to do so between the hours of 2am and 10am.

Now there is at least a possible explanation for why some of us who lay awake for hours, try as we may to get ourselves on a more normal sleeping schedule. Apparently, scientists have deduced that being a night owl could be genetic.

According to this article, a mutation in a certain gene causes mice to work on a longer body clock. The gene, which is labeled the "after hours gene" could also be the reason why some humans find themselves up past their bedtime. So next time you can't get to sleep, don't blame it on the book you're reading or the spicy meal you had too late in the evening. Blame it on your genes!

Experts in the field have known for sometime that longevity of life runs in families. Called the "longevity gene," people who posses it have larger size particles of cholesterol in their blood, too big to cause the fatty build up that causes heart attacks and strokes in their younger counterparts.

A recent study in the United States suggests that this same gene may also prevent fatty build up in the blood vessels of the brain, preserving memory and cognition. Participants in the study -- all in their 70s, 80s, and 90s -- who carried the gene all performed much higher on memory tests and showed superior concentration.

For those of us who don't carry the gene, never fear. Experts hope that more research in this area will help them develop a drug that mimics the actions of the longevity gene.

Researchers have isolated a genetic mutation that prevents the perception of pain. Although the condition is extremely rare, doctors in Pakistan recently studied a group of 6 related children who all had the strange disorder. At first blush it sounds awesome, but in reality it's actually devastating. Pain serves the biological purpose of protection and warning, and without it minor accidents and injuries only get worse -- not to mention that there is no way of learning not to do it again. Several of the children studied were missing large parts of their tongues and lips due to biting them, and had undiagnosed broken bones with or without infection. One of the children was even performing shows where he stabbed himself with knives and walked over burning coals. He died at age 14 after jumping off a roof.

Amazingly, the children (ages 6 to 14) had otherwise normal physical feeling -- they could feel pressure, tickling, warmth, coldness, etc. Just absolutely no physical pain.

Doctors isolated the disorder to a mutation in a specific gene found in nerve cells, and they hope to use this information to develop more effective pain relieving treatments and medications.

In an age where athletes are willing to subject themselves to severe and unnatural methods of artificially increasing their performance, the threat of gene therapy coupled with doping could prove to be an Achilles heel to legitimate sport. If taking pints of blood out of their body only to modify and put back in wasn't enough, what would happen if genetic doping became the new underground trend?

American Tour de France winner Floyd Landis knows how painful it can be to field accusations about doping. When officials found an excess of testosterone in his blood, it threw the entire race into question. But considering he has been taking cortisone for a degenerative hip, the possibility of whether he was illegally doping or not is still in the air. These type of tests can introduce false positives into the mix, but gene therapy could prove to be totally undetectable and foolproof.

What will happen if and when athletes decide to tamper with their genetic structure in the name of winning? By using the common cold virus, doctors would be able to smuggle in super genes to increase stamina and performance. And don't forget the health implications either: marathon mice that underwent such modifications died much faster than the others. Gene therapy could redefine modern medicine, but we still have a long way to go in understanding it all.