PLOS ONE paper describes how a single nuclear protein functions like an orchestra conductor, programming the ‘symphony of biology’One of developmental biology’s most perplexing questions concerns…
Tag: genetics
Mutation causes mice to behave as if they have an eating disorder
A genetic mutation associated with an increased risk of developing eating disorders in humans has now been found to cause several behavioral abnormalities in mice that are similar to those seen in…
The New Improved BMI
BMI categories underestimate the presumed health consequences of lower weights and overestimate the presumed health consequences of higher weights.
Obesity During Pregnancy May Increase Risk of Autism
In recent news, it has been reported by the University of California Davis MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute that obese pregnant women are at higher risk of bearing children with autism than their healthy-weight counterparts.“Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. For a diagnosis to be made, symptoms must become apparent before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and