Sheila Bingham has died ( 1947-2009) . She was based in Cambridge and her contributions to sensible Nutrition science were enormous. If you go into Pub Med and look at her papers there are always valuable insights with each and every one of her papers. She was also a very nice person. A splendid team…
Read moreThe genetic information embodied in DNA must be decoded at the right time and in the right type of cell. To achieve this, proteins that control such processes have to bind to specific places in the genome. How a protein finds the correct spot to bind to among all the possible sites (3 billion base…
Read moreThis book by McGovern on a history of alcohol making suggested that the desire for alcohol is innate in human beings. The “ uniquely human traits “ of self-consciousness, innovation , the arts and religion have been encouraged by the consumption of alcoholAlcohol has been made of thousands of #years. Evidence of alcohol being made…
Read moreFOOD & Drink for Footballers and other Sportsmen WATER is important to keep you hydrated. Drink water before the game and at half time. Energy drinks are ok but water is vital PROTEIN is important, if possible, every day. Meat, chicken, eggs, bread, beans. This helps build muscles. VITAMINS Fruit, vegetables & fresh fruit juices,…
Read moreThis is a fascinating review by Jackson and Bartekon the DNA-damage response in human biology and disease in Nature .Tens of thousands of DNA in each of the 1013 cells in the human body is damaged each day. These lesions can block genome replication and transcription, and if they are not repaired or are repaired…
Read moreRAS is one of the most commonly mutated gene families in human cancers – one of its three members (KRAS, HRAS and NRAS) is mutated in about 20% of human tumours. Attempts to target mutant RAS proteins directly with small-molecule inhibitors have so far proved unsuccessful, so there has been considerable interest in finding signalling…
Read moreAdipose tissue has a key role in the development of metabolic syndrome which includes obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and other disorders. Systemic insulin resistance represents a major factor contributing to the development of metabolic syndrome in obesity. The resistance is precipitated by impaired adipose tissue glucose and lipid metabolism, linked to a low-grade…
Read moreMitochondria, the cell’s energy producers, are descended from free-living bacteria that took up residence within other cells some 2 billion years ago. They have a modest genetic size being only 37 genes in vertebrates, compared with more than 20,000 in a nucleus. Yet within this little genome, researchers have identified a 64S-nucleotide stretch as the…
Read moreBezaire and Langin have produced a very good review of the hormonal regulation of adipocyte lipolysis White adipose tissue is an unlimited pool of energy. In White adipose tissue non esterified fatty acids originating from dietary intake or de novo synthesis are stored as triacylglycerides in highly-structured hydrophobic lipid droplets (LD). As a consequence of…
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