(Press-News.org) This release is available in Spanish.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded studies of mammary gland development in laboratory rats fed blueberries or other foods of interest may aid breast cancer research.
In an early study that has paved the way to follow-up experiments, Rosalia C. M. Simmen of the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center (ACNC) in Little Rock, Ark., has determined that several indicators of rat mammary gland health were improved in the offspring (pups) of mothers (dams) that had been fed 5 percent blueberry powder in their rations during pregnancy and during the weeks that they nursed their pups.
The powder comprised 5 percent of the total weight of the feed, according to Simmen, a senior investigator at the center and a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
The ACNC is a partnership between the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, and the university.
The effects noted in the blueberry study have not been shown in humans and have not yet been traced to a particular blueberry compound, Simmen noted.
Her team evaluated several structural indicators of normal mammary gland development in the lab animals, including branching of the gland. There was significantly more branching in the offspring of the group that consumed the diet containing 5 percent blueberry powder than in offspring of dams fed rations containing 2.5 percent or 10 percent blueberry powder, Simmen reported.
Branching occurs when cells specialize or differentiate. Differentiation is generally preferable to rapid proliferation of undifferentiated cells, which can be a risk factor for breast cancer.
In their analysis of several biochemical indicators, the team found, for instance, that the level of the tumor-suppressing protein PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted in chromosome 10) was significantly higher in mammary tissues of offspring of dams on the 5 percent regimen. That's a plus, because PTEN is thought to help protect against cancer.
Lab animal studies of blueberries' potential role in preventing breast cancer date to 2006. But Simmen's investigation, published in Nutrition Research in 2009, provided the first evidence from a lab animal study of the early influence that the mother's blueberry consumption can have on normal, healthy development of the mammary gland in her offspring.
###
Simmen collaborated in the research with ACNC colleague Xianli Wu; former ACNC research chemist Ronald L. Prior, now retired; and Ph.D. student Omar Rahal.
Read more about these experiments in the May/June 2011 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/2011/may11/fruit0511.htm
ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The research supports the USDA priority of improving children's health and nutrition.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
Mammary gland development of blueberry-fed lab animals studied
2011-06-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Bacteria on old-growth trees may help forests grow
2011-06-08
A new study by Dr. Zoë Lindo, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Biology at McGill University, and Jonathan Whiteley, a doctoral student in the same department, shows that large, ancient trees may be very important in helping forests grow.
These findings highlight the importance of maintaining the large old-growth trees in the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch from Southern Alaska to Northern California. Lindo's findings suggest that it is the interactions between old trees, mosses and cyanobacteria, which contribute to nutrient dynamics in a way that ...
Overweight more harmful to the liver than alcohol in middle-aged men
2011-06-08
Overweight carries a greatly increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver in men, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. "Given the increasing problem of overweight in Sweden, there is reason to fear that more people will develop cirrhosis of the liver," says Jerzy Kaczynski, docent at the Sahlgrenska Academy and doctor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
A group of researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy has studied the link between overweight and the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver in middle-aged men. Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, ...
Using magnets to help prevent heart attacks
2011-06-08
If a person's blood becomes too thick it can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attacks. But a Temple University physicist has discovered that he can thin the human blood by subjecting it to a magnetic field.
Rongjia Tao, professor and chair of physics at Temple University, has pioneered the use of electric or magnetic fields to decrease the viscosity of oil in engines and pipelines. Now, he is using the same magnetic fields to thin human blood in the circulation system.
Because red blood cells contain iron, Tao has been able to reduce a person's blood ...
Carbon release and global warming now and in the ancient past
2011-06-08
The present rate of greenhouse carbon dioxide emissions through fossil fuel burning is higher than that associated with an ancient episode of severe global warming, according to new research. The findings are published online this week by the journal Nature Geoscience.
Around 55.9 million years ago, the Earth experienced a period of intense global warming known as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which lasted for around 170,000 years. During its main phase, average annual temperatures rose by around 5°C.
Scientists believe that the warming may have been ...
Innovative device for quantum simulations
2011-06-08
A team of researchers from Columbia Engineering, the Italian National Research Council, Princeton University, University of Missouri, and University of Nijmegen (Netherlands) has developed an artificial semiconductor structure that has superimposed a pattern created by advanced fabrication methods that are precise at the nanometer scale. The pattern is similar to the honeycomb lattice that occurs in graphene. The device, called "artificial graphene" (AG), simulates quantum behavior of strongly interacting electrons. The research team sees the AG-device as a first step towards ...
Dolphins use double sonar
2011-06-08
Dolphins and porpoises use echolocation for hunting and orientation. By sending out high-frequency sound, known as ultrasound, dolphins can use the echoes to determine what type of object the sound beam has hit.
Researchers from Sweden and the US have now discovered that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously.
"The beam projections have different frequencies and can be sent in different directions. The advantage is probably that the dolphin can locate the object more precisely", says Josefin Starkhammar, a newly examined doctor in Electrical ...
Will the eel survive its management?
2011-06-08
The European eel is on the way to disappearing for good. The species is critically endangered, and there are strong scientific arguments for suspending all fishing. Despite this situation, Swedish eel fishery is allowed to continue. Analysis of the eel management plan by the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment identifies clear shortcomings. It is unlikely that Sweden will meet the target that has been set for silver eels capable of migrating back to the Sargasso Sea so that they can contribute to regeneration.
The recruitment of new annual cohorts of European ...
First of its kind study conducted by BUSM finds women as resilient to combat stress as men
2011-06-08
(Boston) - In what is believed to be the first published study on the topic, researchers affiliated with the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) believe female military service-members from Operation Enduring Freedom OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) may be as resilient to combat-related stress as men. These findings currently appear on-line in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Though the literature suggests that women may be more vulnerable to the effects of trauma exposure, most available studies on combat trauma have relied on samples in which women's combat ...
Red-light cameras critical to public safety, MU traffic researcher finds
2011-06-08
COLUMBIA, Mo. — As automated traffic monitoring systems such as red light cameras keep a law enforcement "eye" on the streets across the country, many drivers accuse city governments of installing the monitors as a way to generate revenue. New research from the University of Missouri says the safety benefits of automated traffic monitoring systems far outweigh the potential for abuse.
"A red light camera is not a panacea for traffic problems; it is a very effective tool for safe and efficient transportation," said Carlos Sun, an associate professor of civil engineering ...
Protein folding made easy
2011-06-08
Protein folding has nothing to do with laundry. It is, in fact, one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino acids that make up proteins in all living things fold into more complex three-dimensional structures. By understanding how proteins fold, and what structures they are likely to assume in their final form, researchers are then able to move closer to predicting their function.
This is important because incorrectly folded proteins in humans result in such devastating ...