Hate Your Hair? Blame Your Mother's Diet
Fri August 1, 2003 12:36 PM ET
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a study that shows more than ever you are what you eat, U.S. scientists said on Friday they had changed the coat colors of baby mice simply by altering their mothers' diets.
The study shows that common nutrients can influence which genes turn on and off in a developing fetus, and help explain some of the factors that decide which genes "express" and which remain silent.
Writing in Friday's issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, the scientists at Duke University Medical Center said they changed the color of baby mouse fur by feeding pregnant mice four supplements -- vitamin B12, folic acid, choline and betaine.
Mice given the four supplements gave birth to babies predominantly with brown coats. Pregnant mice not fed the supplements gave birth mostly to babies with yellow coats.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....s&storyID=3205204&src=US_DskTopTkr/GetContent
Fri August 1, 2003 12:36 PM ET
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a study that shows more than ever you are what you eat, U.S. scientists said on Friday they had changed the coat colors of baby mice simply by altering their mothers' diets.
The study shows that common nutrients can influence which genes turn on and off in a developing fetus, and help explain some of the factors that decide which genes "express" and which remain silent.
Writing in Friday's issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, the scientists at Duke University Medical Center said they changed the color of baby mouse fur by feeding pregnant mice four supplements -- vitamin B12, folic acid, choline and betaine.
Mice given the four supplements gave birth to babies predominantly with brown coats. Pregnant mice not fed the supplements gave birth mostly to babies with yellow coats.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....s&storyID=3205204&src=US_DskTopTkr/GetContent