Category Health/Medical

Tomatoes protect against development of UV-induced keratinocyte carcinoma via metabolomic alterations. Scientific Reports, 2017; 7 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05568-7

Discovery builds on previous evidence of cancer-prevention benefits. The new study found that male mice fed a diet of 10% tomato powder daily for 35 weeks, then exposed to UV light experienced, on average, a 50% decrease in skin cancer tumors compared to mice that ate no dehydrated tomato. The theory behind the relationship between tomatoes and cancer is that dietary carotenoids, the pigmenting compounds that give tomatoes their color, may protect skin against UV light damage.

There were no significant differences in tumor number for the female mice in the study...

Characterization of Adipogenic Activity of House Dust Extracts and Semi-Volatile Indoor Contaminants in 3T3-L1 Cells

Poor diet and a lack of physical activity are major contributors to the world’s obesity epidemic, but researchers have also identified common environmental pollutants that could play a role. Now one team reports in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology that small amounts of house dust containing many of these compounds can spur fat cells to accumulate more triglycerides, or fat, in a lab dish.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are synthetic or naturally occurring compounds that can interfere with or mimic the body’s hormones...

Creation of a Synthetic Ligand for Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Recognition and Promoter-Specific Transcription Suppression

For the first time, a synthetic compound has been made that can bind to DNA in the cells’ energy powerhouses, suppressing a gene associated with nerve and muscle disease. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides (PIPs) are compounds that can read specific DNA sequences inside living cells and silence disease-causing genes. They prevent transcription factors, from binding to specific parts of the DNA strand, thus suppressing the transcription of DNA into RNA.

Most DNA is found in the nucleus. But mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses, also host a small amount of DNA. PIPs can cross the nuclear membrane to bind to nuclear DNA, but are incapable of crossing the mitochondrial membrane...

First evidence that a beneficial gut bacterium can grow when fed a carbohydrate in cranberries. Many scientists are paying new attention to prebiotics, that is, molecules we eat but cannot digest, because some may promote the growth and health of beneficial microorganisms in our intestines, says nutritional microbiologist David Sela at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In a new study, he and colleagues report the first evidence that certain beneficial gut bacteria are able to grow when fed a carbohydrate found in cranberries and further, that they exhibit a special nontypical metabolism.

Findings could add value to future food products or lead to a new supplement based on the cranberry, of which Massachusetts is a major producer.

What we eat not only nourishes us but also feeds the...