Science Weekly
A weekly round up of scientific research for personal trainers. Join for free to get Science Weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox.
 We brought you just over a handful of scientific articles from the world of fitness, nutrition and sports science. The topics are pretty intriguing and also cover a wider range of topics. Maybe the most intriguing one is what scientists found about alleviating diabetes by deleting dysfunctional cells... Highlights:
Food scientists create zinc index for human body Zinc deficiency is prevalent around the world, and among children, these mineral shortfalls can lead to stunting, embryonic malformations and neurobehavioral abnormalities. Over several decades, science has improved understanding of zinc metabolism, but an accurate, comprehensive assessment tool for its physiological status within a human body has remained elusive. Until now. Source: Cornell University Insulin in the brain influences dopamins levels In the human brain, the hormone insulin also acts on the most important neurotransmitter for the reward system, dopamine. Insulin lowers the dopamine level in a specific region of the brain (striatum) that regulates reward processes and cognitive functions, among other things. This interaction can be an important driver of the brain's regulation of glucose metabolism and eating behavior. Source: Deutsches Zentrum fuer Diabetesforschung DZD Taking it easy as you get older? Wrong New research outlines how longer lives are tied to physical activity A team of evolutionary biologists and biomedical researchers lay out evolutionary and biomedical evidence showing that humans, who evolved to live many decades after they stopped reproducing, also evolved to be relatively active in their later years. The researchers say that physical activity later in life shifts energy away from processes that can compromise health and toward mechanisms in the body that extend it. They hypothesize that humans evolved to remain physically active as they age -- and in doing so to allocate energy to physiological processes that slow the body's gradual deterioration over the years. This guards against chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers. Source: Harvard University How eating less in early life could help with reproduction later on New research shows how switching from a restricted diet to eating as much as you like could be beneficial for reproduction in later life. Researchers studied the eating and mating habits of the small fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. They found that those that switched from a restricted diet to unlimited food, started mating and reproducing more. Source: University of East Anglia New link between diet, intestinal stem cells and disease discovered Obesity, diabetes and gastrointestinal cancer are frequently linked to an unhealthy diet. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for this are not fully understood. Researchers have gained some new insights that help to better understand this connection. These findings provide an important basis for the development of non-invasive therapies. Source: Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health Deleting dysfunctional cells alleviates diabetes Eliminating old, dysfunctional cells in human fat also alleviates signs of diabetes, researchers report. The discovery could lead to new treatments for Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
Source: University of Connecticut |
