Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Progeny, Fat, and Foods Against Disease
I'm really buried with work right now, but I don't want to forget about these, so: quicky-linky!!
By Y-chromosome analysis, Irish lord Niall of the Nine Hostages seems to have about 3 million descendents living today. This is impressive, but not really as impressive as Ghengis Khan's estimated 16 million. Similarly, an mtDNA study indicates that around 3.5 million of the approximately 8 million Ahskenazi Jews are descended from four 'founding mothers.' The ultimate Jewish grandmothers? Oy!
Brown U. researchers have engineered the yogurt-making bacteria, L. lactis, to produce cyanovirin, which helps prevent HIV infection in monkeys. The bacteria take up residence in the gut after you eat yogurt, and would theoretically protect their hosts. Cool!
Fat-busting hormone Leptin may also be a good antidepressant. This makes some sense, as it is released after eating, and we all know that pigging out is god for depression.
More evidence that curry is good for you: turmeric's anti-cancer properties are especially potent when mixed with certain veggies: curried cauliflower all the way!
And finally, from the department of 'you win some, you lose some,' we learn that the mutation that seems to protect against HIV makes carriers more vulnerable to West Nile virus.
UPDATE: Clinical trial gives evidence for what we all already know: 1 gram of ginger prevents nausea.
By Y-chromosome analysis, Irish lord Niall of the Nine Hostages seems to have about 3 million descendents living today. This is impressive, but not really as impressive as Ghengis Khan's estimated 16 million. Similarly, an mtDNA study indicates that around 3.5 million of the approximately 8 million Ahskenazi Jews are descended from four 'founding mothers.' The ultimate Jewish grandmothers? Oy!
Brown U. researchers have engineered the yogurt-making bacteria, L. lactis, to produce cyanovirin, which helps prevent HIV infection in monkeys. The bacteria take up residence in the gut after you eat yogurt, and would theoretically protect their hosts. Cool!
Fat-busting hormone Leptin may also be a good antidepressant. This makes some sense, as it is released after eating, and we all know that pigging out is god for depression.
More evidence that curry is good for you: turmeric's anti-cancer properties are especially potent when mixed with certain veggies: curried cauliflower all the way!
And finally, from the department of 'you win some, you lose some,' we learn that the mutation that seems to protect against HIV makes carriers more vulnerable to West Nile virus.
UPDATE: Clinical trial gives evidence for what we all already know: 1 gram of ginger prevents nausea.
