Junk food can cause genetic changes leading to ill
health
Scientists have shown in new research that dietary changes
are linked to alterations in gene expressions that could affect overall health
and physiology. Even the most health-conscious eaters find themselves indulging
in junk foods from time to time. New research by scientists at the University
of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) raises the striking possibility that
even small amounts of these occasional indulgences may produce significant
changes in gene expression that could negatively impact physiology and health.
A pair of papers published by A.J. Marian Walhout,
co-director of the Program in Systems Biology and professor of molecular
medicine at UMMS, describe how metabolism and physiology are connected to diet.
Using C.elegans, a transparent roundworm often used as a
model organism in genetic studies, Walhout and colleagues observed how
different diets produce differences in gene expression in the worm that can
then be linked to crucial physiological changes.
03.04.2013
India’s
initiative to make healthcare affordable is commendable: Azad
India
has made healthcare services more accessible, affordable and equitable,
especially for those living in the remotest parts of the country, union Health
Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said. ‘Government of India has stepped in to make
health-care services accessible, affordable and equitable, especially for the
marginalised and vulnerable sections of the population,’ Azad said at the North
Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences.
He
said India has earned accolades for containing polio with the country having
been free of polio virus for the past two years. ‘India has earned
international acclaim for containing polio, with the longest polio-free period
ever since eradication efforts were launched. India has been taken off the list
of countries with endemic transmission of wild poliovirus,’ he said.
He
also said there has been significant fall in maternal mortality rate and infant
mortality rate. Azad said India has also seen reduction in new HIV cases by 57
percent. The health minister also said that the United Progressive Alliance
chairperson Sonia Gandhi had launched the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram
under which children are screened for disorders, diseases, deficiencies and
disabilities from birth up to 18 years.
The
programme will cover almost 27 crore across the country, including 17 crore
school going children, he added. As India faces acute shortage of human resources
in health, the health minister said, they have launched a series of reforms,
including investing on medical education sector so that the country could
produce more medical personnel to meet the growing demand.
03.04.2013
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