Category Biology/Biotechnology

Accelerated ageing and renal dysfunction links lower socioeconomic status and dietary phosphate intake especially in red meat

A diet containing too much red meat and not enough fruit and vegetables could increase your body’s ‘biological age’ and contribute to health problems. Research led by University of Glasgow has found a moderate increase in serum phosphate levels caused by red meat consumption, combined with a poor overall diet, increases biological age in contrast to chronological age.

The study, which looked at participants from most to least deprived in the NHS Greater Glasgow Health Board area, also demonstrates deprived males were the worst affected...

The N3A receptor, as modeled here by the UB researchers, may be silent under normal conditions, but can be reactivated through the unique site (in red) under acidic conditions, such as after a stroke or seizure.

Strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia: these conditions can cause persistent, widespread acidity around neurons in the brain. But exactly how that acidity affects brain function isn’t well understood. University at Buffalo researchers have begun to unravel some of the puzzle. They found that an elusive brain receptor may play an important role in the death of neurons from neurological diseases.

The UB researchers study a family of brain receptors that are critical to learning and memory, called NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors...

People who regularly consume yogurt or buttermilk have a greater diversity of gut bacteria. Credit: © BillionPhotos.com / Fotolia

A large-scale study into the effect of food and medicine on the bacterial diversity in the human gut was led by RUG/UMCG geneticist Cisca Wijmenga. Researchers collected stool samples from more than 1100 people taking part in the LifeLines programme, which is monitoring the health of 165,000 residents of the Northern Netherlands. The samples were used to analyze the DNA of the bacteria and other organisms that live in the gut. In addition to stools, the study collected information on the participants’ diet, medicine-use and health.

This study is unique in that it focused on a group of normal people whereas previous research was frequently focused on patients wi...