Diabetes-Birth Weight Link
Danger of GMOs in baby foods probed
BABIES OF DIABETIC DADS WEIGH LESS
PARIS
Children whose fathers have diabetes are likely to weigh less at birth than other babies, according to a study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The offspring of fathers with diabetes weigh on average 186 grams (six ounces) less than other children, and this significant difference cannot be explained by the father's height or social class, it says. In contrast, women who have diabetes are likelier to give birth to a baby whose weight is above average, it adds.
"Diabetes in fathers and the birth weight of their offspring are strongly associated," say the authors, led by George Davey Smith, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Bristol, western England. "Our findings support the hypothesis that common genetic factors contribute both to the risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes and decreased pre-natal growth."
The research is based on interviews with a large group of people who were born in Britain in 1958 and whose health was evaluated four decades later. More than 8,000 of the follow-up respondents were parents, 34 of whom were men with diabetes, and 24 were women who had become diabetic since childbirth.
SMALL BRAIN
WASHINGTON
Children and adolescents who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have brains three to four percent smaller than average, regardless of medication.
A 10-year study of 152 children aged between five and 18 years found noticeably less of a white matter in the brains of those who had ADHD than in non-sufferers. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined sufferers who have never been medicated for the disorder.
The researchers believe, however, that the brains of children living with the disorder develop similarly to those of other children, indicating that ADHD's cause is more than just a question of development.
Researchers Dr. Xavier Castellanos and Dr. Judith Rapaport of the National Institute of Mental Health's Child Psychiatry Branch said imagery by magnetic resonance was used to carry out several examinations from the start of the study in 1991.
"There is no evidence that medication harms the brain," Castellanos said. "Children with ADHD are often described as less mature than their peers and this may relate to delays in white matter maturation," he said.
ADHD affects between three and five percent of all school age children in the United States.
According to the diagnostic manual, ADHD can be identified in three ways. Sufferers may give several signs of being consistently inattentive. They may have a pattern of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Or they may show all three types of behavior.
TESTING BABY FOODS FOR GMOS
PARIS
European scientists are working on a technique to test baby food for the presence of genetically-modified ingredients, the pan-European agency for promoting research, Eureka, said.
A team of scientists is halfway through a US$3.31 million project to screen baby food for telltale genetic sequences pointing to GM ingredients, it said in a statement. The focus is on providing "fast, low-cost" testing of food suspected to contain GM soybeans and corn-two crops widely sown in North America.
"European consumers are very concerned about risks derived from genetically modified foods," Eureka said. "EU-wide legislation reflects these concerns by regulating the labeling of food products containing genetically-modified materials, creating a need for widespread testing. Special care is needed with food for infants."
Eureka acts as a meeting place for project ideas and sources of financing. It gathers 33 countries plus the European Union (EU) and has its secretariat in Brussels.
GM foods have been warmly embraced by the United States but are widely shunned in Europe, where environmental groups are vocal and influential.
Genetically-engineered crops are plants that have had foreign genes added to them to change their characteristics, for instance by making them impervious to insecticide, which enables a farmer to do a once-only spraying of his field to eliminate weeds. Defenders of this technology say it is safe for health, offers big cost savings, and is a potential boon for the environment by cutting back on the need for chemical inputs. Critics say that the technology was introduced in the mid-1990s, and it is too soon to conclude whether it is safe.
DISSOLVING DIAPERS
TOKYO
Environment-friendly diapers that can be safely burned or flushed down the toilet could soon become reality following the invention by Japanese textile firm Unitika of a new water-absorbing resin. The new resin is made of guar gum and can be dissolved by microorganisms" in water. It can also be buried to help desert greening.
The company has used the resin and special textiles to make prototype diapers that completely break down into water and carbon dioxide, said Norihisa Sasaki. "We are aiming to make diapers that can be burned without releasing harmful gas...can be flushed in toilets or buried to help the afforestation of deserts just like some garbage is now buried as fertilizer," he said.
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