‘Biological clock’ key to longer life

A not-so-good night’s sleep could reduce your ability to handle oxidative stress, cause impacts to your health, speed aging and ultimately cut short your life.

In a study based on fruit fly, scientists from Oregon State University have outlined how a key gene that helps control circadian rhythms can improve the health of aging fruit flies if it is intact, but can result in significant health impacts, up to and including earlier death, if it is absent.

The research, published in the journal Aging, found that young fruit flies without this gene were able to handle some stress, but middle-aged and older flies were not.

“We’re beginning to identify some of the underlying mechanisms that may help explain why organisms age,” said Natraj Krishnan, a research associate in the OSU Department of Zoology. “This study suggests that young individuals may be able to handle certain stresses, but the same insults at an older age cause genetic damage and appear to lead to health problems and earlier death. And it’s linked to biological clocks.” Natraj added.

Kidney ravages

Kidney is a vital organ of the body with multiple roles. Apart from detoxifyingthe blood and making it fit to carry appropriate nutrition, it also helps make the red blood cells by producing a hormone called erythropoietin and balances various minerals in the body. Take for example calcium and phosphorus which helpthe bones to be in shape and sturdy.

The bone tissues are constantly being remodelled and rebuilt while they are fortified with calcium and phosphorus. The balance of these minerals is maintained by the kidney with the help of calcitriol that it produces. This enzyme takes the help of the Vitamin D which is gained from sunlight and helps in assimilation of the minerals into the bones. In chronic kidney diseases or End Stage Renal Failure, the functioning of the kidney declines and the minerals are not assimilated causing weakness and brittleness of bones. These changes become apparent only when it becomes irreversible and it makes it that much more imperative to balance these hormones in such patients at the earliest even as they are under treatment with medication and dialysis.

‘Moderate alcohol intake prevents weight gains’

Women are often advised to stop drinking to avoid extra calories but a new research suggests that women who regularly consume moderate amounts of alcohol are 30 per cent less likely to gain weight than those who do not drink.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston said the women who consumed two to three servings of beer or wine each day were less likely to gain extra pounds as they get older. The 13-year research found that women who did not drink at all gained the most weight.

The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 U.S. women aged 39 and over who had normal body weight at the start of the study. Researchers tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years.

About 60 per cent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 per cent reported drinking no alcohol. Over the course of the study, 41 per cent of the women became overweight or obese. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 per cent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol beverages a day, compared to others who did not drink at all.

The non-drinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers.

The effects were found for beer, red wine, white wine and spirits, although the strongest association was found for red wine. It isn’t clear what accounts for the association, the authors said.

Protect your kidneys and control diabetes — this year's theme

You are reading this on World Kidney Day and the doctors are telling you to mind your blood sugar. Puzzling? Wait, diabetes and hypertension are two of the most common causes of renal disease in Indians.

No wonder then that the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations has taken on the diabetes monster, only a year after they took on hypertension (last year's theme). This year's theme is ‘Protect your Kidneys, Control Diabetes.'

In the online resources available on World Kidney Day (worldkidneyday.org) Paul Zimmet and Robert Atkins observe that in 2003, the ISN and the International Diabetes Federation launched a booklet called “Diabetes and Kidney Disease: Time to act” to highlight the global pandemic of type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. “Seven years later, the same message has become even more urgent,” the authors write.

“With the incidence of diabetes and hypertension on the rise, we are going to see the group of people with kidney disease swell,” says Sunil Shroff, founder, MOHAN Foundation. He also calls for lifestyle alterations, not only to stem the tide of the epidemic, but also to reverse it.

Zimmet and Atkins also state that primary prevention of Type 2 diabetes will require massive lifestyle changes in the developing and developed world supported by strong governmental commitment to promote lifestyle and societal change. 

Another milestone in Tamil Nadu's legislative history

The inauguration of the Assembly-Secretariat complex on the Omandurar Government Estate in the heart of the State capital of Chennai marks another milestone in the history of the elected legislature of Tamil Nadu.

The origins of the legislature can be traced back to the Indian Councils Act, 1861. The law restored the legislative power taken away by the Charter Act of 1833. The legislature of the Madras Presidency, which then comprised the present area of Tamil Nadu and parts of what are now the States of Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, was given the power to make laws for the “peace and good government.”

The Provincial Legislative Council was constituted. It consisted of the Advocate General and four to eight ad hoc members nominated by the Governor to the Executive Council. At least half the members were to be non-officials, nominated for two years. The Legislative Council could not interfere with the laws passed by the Central Legislature. All Bills passed by Provincial Councils required the assent of the Governor-General. Even after that, they could be disallowed by the Queen, to whom they had to be referred. Though the Council was a mere advisory committee for the government in its legislative work, one positive feature was that the public came to know of what went on in the Council, which was till then not possible.

As a result of the Minto-Morley Reforms, a package of constitutional concessions was formulated through the Indian Councils Act, 1909. This raised the strength of the Council from 20 to 50. Elections, though not direct, were introduced.