News by Subject Biology

A study published today in JAMA Network Open concludes that 86 percent of diet trials amended their desired study outcomes along the way. That raises the possibility of bias, say researchers David Ludwig, MD, PhD and Cara Ebbeling, PhD, of Boston Children's Hospital, and Steven Heymsfield, MD, of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (Baton Rouge, Louisiana).

A new proof-of-concept study details how an automated system driven by artificial intelligence can design, build, test and learn complex biochemical pathways to efficiently produce lycopene, a red pigment found in tomatoes and commonly used as a food coloring, opening the door to a wide range of biosynthetic applications, researchers report.

MIT researchers have now developed a new way to fortify staple foods with these micronutrients by encapsulating them in a biocompatible polymer that prevents the nutrients from being degraded during storage or cooking. In a small clinical trial, they showed that women who ate bread fortified with encapsulated iron were able to absorb iron from the food.

Your diet can put you at risk of depression, according to a new study. The study also found that the likelihood of depression is higher among middle-aged and older women who were immigrants to Canada when compared to Canadian-born women.

Vitamin B12 deficiency impairs fat metabolism and may be associated with obesity during pregnancy, according to findings presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference. Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin B12 had metabolic markers indicative of increased fat production and reduced breakdown, which suggests that low vitamin B12 levels could predispose pregnant women to obesity.

Study Shows Vascular Ultrasounds and Adhering to Interventional Education in Underserved Communities can Improve Health among Parents and School Staff.

Impaired liver function during pregnancy may alter gut bacteria composition and increase the risk of obesity in children, according to results presented at The Society for Endocrinology Annual Conference. In a rodent of model of the most common liver disease in pregnancy, the composition of gut bacteria in offspring was altered and liver function impaired, particularly when they were fed a Western-style, high-fat diet.