Smoking can alter your genes

Smoking can cause changes in several genes, increasing the risk of developing cancer and diabetes, a new study has found.

Researchers from Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center in Sweden found that smoking affects genes which increase the risk for cancer and diabetes, or are important for the immune response or sperm quality.

They examined how the genes are changed in smokers and users of non-smoke tobacco.

The study identified a large number of genes that were altered in smokers but found no such effect of non-smoke tobacco.

"This means that the epigenetic modifications are likely not caused by substances in the tobacco, but by the hundreds of different elements that are formed when the tobacco is burnt," said Asa Johansson, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center, who led the study.

"Our results therefore indicate that the increased disease risk associated with smoking is partly a caused by epigenetic changes.

"A better understanding of the molecular mechanism behind diseases and reduced body function might lead to improved drugs and therapies in the future," said Johansson.

It has been previously known that smokers have an increased risk of developing diabetes and many types of cancer, and have a reduced immune defence and lower sperm quality.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/smoking-can-alter-your-genes/1209141/

Comments

Communist party launches 'China Operating System' to oust iOS and Android

hina officials have launched a national operating system in an attempt to take back control of the country’s computer market from American companies such as Google and Apple. The software has been in development for more than a year, but has been released at a crucial time with revelations about US-led surveillance sparking fears over the integrity of American-designed software. Known simply as the China Operating System, or COS, the software can run on PCs, tablets and smartphones and has been based on the open-source Linux operating system. Chinese media say that the OS has been created “entirely independently” in order to provide better localization for a range of features – from Chinese-language keyboards, to integration with the country’s banks. At the launch of the event, one of the developers involved with the project reportedly criticized Western software , saying that Apple’s iOS was too closed, that Google’s Android OS suffered from fragmentation (ie, too many versi

Best IELTS and English language training institutions in Hyderabad

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. As the name implies it is basically an English test for testing the proficiency of the language in an individual. Training for IELTS can be taken to pass the IELTS exam or to develop good english language skills. I am giving the training institute addresses for Hyderabad. The test system is jointly managed by the British Council,IDP education ltd and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and more than 1 million candidates are taking the exam all over the world. The test has two versions : 1. Academic 2. General training Academic version is for people who plan to continue their higher education by enrolling in universities in countries like US,UK,Australia,Canada,New Zealand etc.The academic institutions in these countries consider the IELTS score as a criteria for the admission process. General training is mostly for immigration purposes in countries like Australia,New Zealand,Canada etc. It may also be u

How to avoid injurious sitting posture at work? Take care of Ergonomics

The impact of poor consideration of these, as well as other, ergonomic elements can be very hazardous to our well-being. Some of the effects include increase chances of suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome, decreased eye sight, cramps in our joints, strain from overworking certain muscles and joints, and decreased blood-flow circulation. Work productivity also decreases when we are in environments that are not designed for proper ergonomics. One other important thing to consider is the lighting levels in the space. I actually did not even think of this as an ergonomic design issue, but it truly is. Our eye muscles are the most used muscles in our entire body. We use our eyes in every situation throughout our entire day. Poor considerations for lighting causes very negative short and long-term effects. It is recommended that we use mixed levels of lighting in our environments. This allows for multiple options for each user depending on his or her preferences and physical nee

Dr M Khalid's global village blog

Search This Blog