Author: Tom Patriot

Genetic study provides novel insights into the evolution of skin color

Tom Patriot

Skin colour is one of the most visible and variable traits among humans and scientists have always been curious about how this variation evolved. Now, a study of diverse Latin American populations led by UCL geneticists has identified new genetic variations associated with skin colour. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that the variation of light skin among Eurasian people evolved independently from different genetic backgrounds. The genetic study analysed pigmentation in over 6,000 Latin Americans, who have a mix of Native American, European and African ancestry. It…

Read More

What you eat could impact your brain and memory

Tom Patriot

You may be familiar with the saying, “You are what you eat,” but did you know the food you eat could impact your memory? Auriel Willette, assistant professor, and his team of researchers in Iowa State University’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition discovered a satiety hormone that, at higher levels, could decrease a person’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A paper outlining the results of their study recently was accepted for publication in Neurobiology of Aging. Using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the researchers looked at…

Read More

Sarah Hyland Reveals She Had a Second Kidney Transplant and ‘Was Contemplating Suicide’

Tom Patriot

Sarah Hyland revealed that she had a second kidney transplant after her first one failed, leading to mental health struggles that had her “contemplating suicide.” The Modern Family star, 28, has kidney dysplasia — which means her kidneys did not develop properly when she was in the womb and frequently form painful cysts — and the condition required a kidney transplant in 2012. Her father donated his kidney, but in Oct. 2016, her body started to reject it. “We did all of these tests and all of these treatments to try and save the kidney,” Hyland told SELF…

Read More

Walking for health benefits just got easier to track

Tom Patriot

In an ongoing study exploring walking for health across the adult lifespan, University of Massachusetts Amherst kinesiology researchers found that walking cadence is a reliable measure of exercise intensity and set simple steps-per-minute guidelines for moderate and vigorous intensity. Catrine Tudor-Locke, professor of kinesiology, and postdoctoral researchers Elroy Aguiar and Scott Ducharme concluded that for adults, age 21-40, walking about 100 steps per minute constitutes moderate intensity, while vigorous walking begins at about 130 steps per minute. The research, published this month in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical…

Read More