H E A L T H in the News
AfricAn gEnEtic divErsitY studiEd
Over 3,000 samples were collected across Africa including remote
areas where a car battery powered the centrifuge to spin down
blood to collect the DNA. The team was lead by Sarah Tishkoff,
PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. The team looked at
individual ancestry, or genetic similarities in their samples, by
comparing the frequencies of more than 1,000 DNA markers —
sections of the DNA code that are known to reveal common
genetic heritage. “In the past, [geneticists] studied just a few Afri-
cans, and suggested they were representative of the continent,
but we’ve found that no population is representative of all of this
diversity,” said Tishkoff. “Our goal has been to do research that
will benefit Africans,” she
said. “I hope this will set the
stage for future genomics
research there, and future
Bust BEllY fAt With BluEBErriEs
biomedical research.” The
University of Michigan researchers say the results of a study on
completion of the study
rats given blueberries suggest that antioxidant-rich blueber-
could enable such research,
ries may change how the body stores and processes glucose or
allowing the link between
sugar for energy, thereby reducing the risk of both heart disease
genes and disease to be
and diabetes. After ninety days of a blueberry rich diet the rats
properly studied. “The genetic variants we’ve identified may play
fed blueberries had less abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, and
a role in disease susceptibility and the different ways in which
improved glucose control and insulin sensitivity. While the
people respond to drugs,” Tishkoff explained. The research also
research on humans needs to be done what better fruit to boost
located the origin of modern human migration in south-western
in the diet?
Africa, near the coastal border of Namibia and Angola. This is
based on the widely-accepted theory that the highest level of Warner, J. (2009, April 19). Blueberries may banish belly fat: diet
genetic diversity is in the oldest population — the one that has
rich in blueberries may boost heat health. Retrieved May 1, 2009
from www.webmd.com/heart/news/20090419/blueberries-may-
had the longest to evolve. “The site is the homeland of the indig-
banish-belly-fat
enous San communities,” Tishkoff explained. “It’s not surprising
but it’s a very neat finding because the San have already been
shown to have the oldest genetic lineages, suggesting they may be
descendents of a population ancestral to all modern humans.”
BBC News. (May 1, 2009). Africa’s genetic secrets unlocked.
Retrieved May 1, 2009 from news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/
nature/8027269.stm
CompiLeD By margareT arThur, m.D.
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