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A new study has found that in women with BRCA gene mutations, having a high body mass index (BMI) is linked to more DNA damage in breast cells. Specifically, the study discovered that elevated BMI was associated with more damage to epithelium tissue DNA. Priya Bhardwaj, Ph.D. Candidate and her team worked with cultured healthy breast tissues collected from individuals with mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The samples were categorized as coming from a donor of lower weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2, n = 43) or overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2, n = 26). BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are protecting...

Scientists are looking more closely at a brain structure involved in motivation, called the nucleus accumbens. This small region drives reward-seeking behaviors underlying the pursuit of sex, recreational drugs like nicotine and alcohol, and food. "Brain motivation centers help us survive," said Carrie Ferrario, Ph.D. Previous research from Ferrario's lab pinpointed differences in the nucleus accumbens in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats. Their latest study tracked what was happening in the brain when these animals were presented with glucose, a type of sugar, labeled with a tracer. Sugar is the brain's main fuel source, and once there, the molecule is broken...