Definitions
- larvae - The newly hatched, earliest stage of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in form and appearance from the adult.
- methylation - An organic compound in which the hydrogen of the hydroxyl group of methyl alcohol is replaced by a metal.
- Gene expression - the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product.
- Grow up eating a nutrition-rich diet of royal jelly and you will become royalty, whereas eating honey and you'll turn into a worker. The research, led by Ryszard Maleszka, of the Australian National University's college of medicine, biology and environment, shows that this reflects on humans too. The findings show that diet could modify the ''genetic hardware'' of the brain. Additionally, the bee's diet not only affected its behavior but also its DNA. Two groups of genetically identical female bees developed from differentially fed larvae were studied at the ANU and the German Cancer Institute. One group was fed highly nutritious royal jelly; the others honey. The results showed the honey-fed bees became the workers while those fed royal jelly became queen bees. Also, there was a difference in the two DNA. The implications for human health are brought up because the enzymes that mark the DNA in the bee are the same ones that mark DNA in human brains. The results show the difficulties of the chemical DNA methylation, which has the ability to change gene expression without affecting the genetic code.
- I think this topic allows people to relate and look back at what we consume. From a personal perspective, my parents are always "nagging" me to eat right, but I did not know it could impact more than just your behavior and attitude. This article made me think that maybe if the world eats healthier, we could accomplish more in life. By accomplishments, not only the physical ones such as the reduction of childhood obesity, but also mental ones. For example, if someone started eating healthy and had a diabetes problem running through the family, their new diet could affect their future children by removing or lowering the risk. Also, choosing bees for this experiment caught my attention. Normally, these types of tests are on animals rather than insects.
- Why were bees chosen? There are numerous animals that come close to the human body, so why wasn't the experiment done on one of them?
- Does this mean eating right could create more higher paying jobs? Would we get more doctors, lawyers, scientists, and CEO s in the world just by changing the fries to a salad?
- http://dictionary.reference.com/
- Smith, Bridie. "Bees Prove a Good Diet Can Set Our Path in Life ." The Sydney
Morning Herald. Fairfax Media, 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
