This 2021 review subject was individual differences: “We will focus on recent findings that try to shed light on the emergence of individuality, with a particular interest in Drosophila melanogaster. (A) Cumulative and relative contribution of different sources of interindividual variability from early development stages to adult life experience. Individuality emerges from the combination of … Continue reading Inevitable individual differences
This 2015 Canadian human study by McGill researchers found: “Differential methylation is primarily non-genetic in origin, with non-shared environment accounting for most of the variance. These non-genetic effects are mainly tissue-specific. The full scope of environmental variation remains underappreciated.” The researchers developed their findings using adipose and blood samples from monozygotic and dizygotic twins in … Continue reading The primary causes of individual differences in DNA methylation are environmental factors
This 2014 research studied both humans and rodents to provide further evidence on the physiology of defeat. The researchers demonstrated that with mice: “Bone marrow transplants of stem cells that produce leucocytes lacking IL-6 (the cytokine interleukin 6) or when injected with antibodies that block IL-6 prior to stress exposure, the development of social avoidance … Continue reading If research treats “Preexisting individual differences” as a black box, how can it find causes for stress and depression?
This 2021 human twin study used four epigenetic clocks: “We examined the mediating role of lifestyle factors on the association between sex and biological aging in younger and older adults. The Finnish Twin Cohort (FTC) includes three large cohort studies: The older FTC includes twins born before 1958; Finntwin16 includes twins born in 1975-1979; and … Continue reading Epigenetic clocks vs. individual choices
This past Saturday evening into night I walked five miles over three hours in Manchester, New Hampshire, with two individuals. Several items of interest, incidental to our enjoyable experiences: My first impression was that it could have been this time last year. People who had spent a long winter and spring indoors were happy to … Continue reading Supporting individuals
I’m curating this 2018 UC Berkeley/Drexel/Netherlands analysis of human studies via its press coverage. The authors: “Collaborated to analyze data on hundreds of adults – some mentally or physically sound, others suffering from various conditions such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants had completed surveys about their mental health and had their heart … Continue reading Group statistics don’t necessarily describe an individual
This 2014 UK/German human study involved fMRI scans of the subjects inferior temporal cortex while viewing images: “Brain representational idiosyncrasies accessible to fMRI are expressed in an individual’s perceptual judgments. We found evidence for an individually unique representation predictive of perceptual idiosyncrasies in hIT [human inferior temporal cortex] (but not in early visual areas) and … Continue reading Do our unique visual perceptions arise from brain structural differences?
A 2024 clinical trial investigated effects of people adding a cup of cruciferous vegetables to their daily diet for six months: “We developed a 6-month behavioral dietary intervention (Power to Redefine Your Health [POW-R Health]) designed to increase Cruciferae intake and isothiocyanate (ITC) levels in non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) survivors, with the long-term goal of … Continue reading Eat broccoli sprouts for your bladder?
This 2023 human study investigated commercially available broccoli sprouts’ effects on platelets. I’ll provide details of some procedures, but not of findings, as there were several issues: “Administration of intervention (sulforaphane/placebo) was followed in 90 min by administration of standardized caloric challenge PhenFlex. Urine samples were classified into three groups: (A) baseline, green line, (B) after … Continue reading A flawed broccoli sprouts clinical trial
A 2023 porcine study expanded Part 1’s coverage to include stomach and small intestine microbiota: “Identification of individual intestinal microbes affecting phenotypes and diseases depends on statistical analyses between these two main variables. Because the phenotypes or diseases are typically well-defined, success of statistical analyses on these studies depend on precise elucidation of gut microbiome … Continue reading Measuring gut microbiota, Part 2
A 2023 review of 28 human clinical trials investigating broccoli sprout compounds brought up this post’s title by omitting discussion of it: “In order to determine the effective reference dose of a broccoli sprouts beverage for detoxifying carcinogenic air pollutants (benzene), Chen et al. administrated a drink enriched with glucoraphanin (GR) and sulforaphane (SFN) from … Continue reading Does eating broccoli sprouts influence biological age?
Here is a 2021 rodent study and relevant parts from 3 of its 26 citing papers: “A long line of evidence has established the laboratory mouse as the prime model of human aging. However, relatively little is known about detailed behavioral and functional changes that occur across their lifespan, and how this maps onto the … Continue reading What do we know about human aging from mouse models?
Two 2022 papers, starting with a review of irisin: “This article is an overview of irisin generation, secretion, and tissue distribution. Its targeting of tissues or organs for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases is systematically summarized, with discussion of underlying molecular mechanisms. Irisin is an exercise-induced myokine expressed as a bioactive peptide in multiple … Continue reading The goddess of rainbows
This 2021 paper covered a 2016 human clinical trial, and several in vitro and rodent follow-up studies: “Oat has been widely accepted as a key food for human health. It is becoming increasingly evident that individual differences in metabolism determine how different individuals benefit from diet. Both host genetics and gut microbiota play important roles … Continue reading Eat oat avenanthramides for your gut microbiota
This 2021 human clinical trial investigated associations between gut microbiota and host adaptive immune system components: “Diet modulates gut microbiome, and gut microbes impact the immune system. We used two gut microbiota-targeted dietary interventions – plant-based fiber or fermented foods – to determine how each influences microbiome and immune system in healthy adults. Using a … Continue reading Changing your immune system / gut microbiota interactions with diet
Surface Your Real Self 