If your dad is short and overweight, your mom is short and overweight, you'll be short and overweight, too, right? Not necessarily.

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In early June, I wrote a post about a study that stated a low-sodium diet didn't have as great of an impact on heart health as previously thought. Now a new study confirms the traditional thought that salt intake effects blood pressure. Color this writer confused.

The more recent study aimed to find a genetic component that made people more susceptible to the effects of salt on blood pressure. Ultimately, the study found no genetic link. The study subjects who took in more salt had higher blood pressure regardless of genetics.

While the previous study doesn't necessarily dispute the link between blood pressure and salt intake, it does state that 80% of people who were on a low-sodium diet (in their study) were at a greater risk for developing heart disease. While they don't believe low-sodium diets are a causative factor for heart disease, they're questioning whether or not a low-sodium diet is effective for heart health management.

So what's a person to do? Personally, I'm going to continue avoiding high-sodium packaged foods, minimizing the salt I use in cooking, and not worrying about it. How about you?

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We've all heard about foods so super in their powers they can fight off disease. This past week, broccoli made headlines for its ability to protect men from prostate cancer.

How exactly is this possible?

Researchers believe a chemical in broccoli sparks hundreds of genetic changes, activating some genes that do battle with cancer and turning off others that fuel tumors. This study is more than just evidence backing the notion that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces cancer risk. It's the first human trial that looks at the potential biological mechanism at work. We know it's good to eat fruits and veggies. Now we know why.

Specifically, the broccoli eaters in this study showed 400 to 500 positive genetic changes. Men carrying a gene called GSTM1 enjoyed the most benefit. About half the population have this gene.

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Peanut allergies may soon be a thing of the past, says Dr. Wesley Burks, a food allergy expert at Duke University Medical Center.

"I think there's some type of immunotherapy that will be available in five years," reports Burks who says ideally, this therapy would change a person's immune system response to peanuts from an allergic one to a nonallergic one.

This would be great stuff, given that peanut allergies are growing more and more common. And while many kids grow out of other food allergies -- milk and eggs, for example -- only 20 percent ever lose their peanut allergy, which often appears in the first three years of life and manifests itself in range of symptoms, from minor irritation to the whole-body allergic response called anaphylaxis.

Stay tuned for more on peanut immunotherapy. And be on the lookout for news on the genetic engineering front. Burks says genetics may one day produce an allergen-free peanut.

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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.

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Ever since scientists have had access to the human genome, they've been discovering all kinds of new biological secrets. For example, we've heard from centenarians before who claimed to have the answer for long life. It could have cold showers for this guy, or maybe getting married has something to do with it!

But a new study is saying a large part of it may be due to the fact that some people living extraordinary long lives have mutated genes. The claim is interesting: researchers say a genetic glitch actually disrupts their normal body's growth process. This makes sense in some ways. If a gene is causing centenarians' cells to generate differently, then certainly this would affect their longevity.

They discovered the same link in animals who had really long lives. And the gene variations supposedly halt the aging process! Sounds like science fiction, but I wonder how long it will be before these "genetic glitches" are clinically produced for people seeking the fountain of youth. Now that's a page out of a sci-fi novel right there!

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Have you ever known an individual who seems to have an incredibly natural ability to pick up music easily? I've known several, and I always used to think they just were "genetically predisposed" to being so gifted. Well, the University of Arkansas has done some research on the topic and discovered that it has more to do with training and practice than genes.

By subjecting musicians to solo recordings of Bach's violin and flute pieces, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan their brains. The activity of their brains mirrored evidence that suggests experience plays a bigger role than genetic makeup.

Those who had more experience with a violin showed increased brain activity when listening to flute renditions. The vice versa was true for flutists. Researchers say if genes played more of determining factor, then the brain activity should have been equal for both recordings. I guess this goes to show you that nothing beats a little hard work!

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Thanks to a special protein produced by sea cucumbers, scientists may be on the right path to finding an effective way to combat malaria. Lectin kills off the parasites that are responsible for making the mosquito carrying them so dangerous.

The way it works is that scientists genetically fuse parts of the protein-making gene to the mosquito's. So lectin ends up killing the parasites before they can migrate to the salivary glands of the mosquito which is where the point of contact happens with humans. At this stage, it's mostly impractical because for it to be used as a truly effective method against malaria, researchers would need to introduce the modified species.

But that's never been done before, and the genetically engineered mosquitos are not able to use the sea cucumber's protein to kill 100% of all the parasites. They are on the right track, however, and hopefully it is just a matter of time before they find a way to use this method to fight the disease which is responsible for a million deaths per year.

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Right now you can find almost anybody in the world using the internet, whether it's through paying a high-tech online service or simply "Googling" names and seeing what pops up. But what if, in searching for long lost relatives in particular, there was an enormous online DNA database you could check? Now that would be cool. Creepy, sure. But cool.

Well we're one step closer (practically there, actually) to that possibility with Ancestry.com. You can order a DNA kit, swab yourself, and send it in to their system where they'll check you against all the other DNA in their system. If a match is found they'll notify both parties and if everyone agrees, contact information is exchanged.

Interesting idea, and it's all supposedly private and anonymous, but I'm skeptical to say the least.


Via Book of Joe

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Halloween is the time when the sweet tooth deep inside me takes control and causes me to make irrational decisions, like the one to eat most of the chocolate Halloween candy before the kids even knock on my door. Sometimes I really hate my sweet tooth, you know? But according to a Finnish study, a sweet tooth might be inherited -- that is, it's in your genes. In fact, there's even a specific chromosome variation linked to a love of sweets, and those who have it find sweet-tasting stuff much more pleasant than those who don't.

Makes sense to me -- my dad was a lover of sweets too so I know where I got it from anyway. But, does this mean that it's something I can't change? What do you think?

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Another notch in the goalpost for genetic research, as a new study involving worms has identified some genes that not only affect the aging process, but are apparently involved in preventing cancer as well.

Although this study was performed on worms, many of the genes found to prevent aging and cancer development are known to have counterparts in the human genome, according to University of California, San Francisco scientists.

Some of the genes studied promoted cell proliferation (which helps cancer cells spread) to cell apoptosis (cell suicide), which helps the body weed out and destroy faulty cells -- along with tumor cells.

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Researchers reported this week that a trio of genes actually work together to become associated with about 20 percent of lung cancer cases. That's millions of lung cancer cases per year -- quite a large amount.

As the medical art of genomics marches on, scientists said that understanding the way these genes work could be a large leap in preventing tumors form forming.

The three-gene mutation is found in 20 percent of non-small lung cancer cases, which comprises about 80 percent of all lung cancer, according to lead researcher on the study, David Mu. Gene-based therapy sure looks to have the potential to treat (and prevent) many types of cancer in the near future, and this is another sign that advances are indeed happening.

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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.

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Being skinny might be in your genes, according to a new study. A gene called Adipose (or adp) means the difference between fat and thin in mice and fruit flies, and researchers are wondering if the same could be said for humans in the midst of our obesity epidemic. The gene, when manipulated one way, caused mice to become obese, but when manipulated the other way, made them thin.

For years, researchers have been trying to uncover the 'thrifty gene' -- that is, the gene that causes humans to store food as fat in case of starvation. But this gene is being called the anti-thrifty gene. Of course, a lot more research will have to take place before the findings can be tested on humans, but the results so far are promising.

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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?

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