Washington, Apr 14 : Researchers from University of Utah have found that lack of proper nutrition in the womb may cause permanent genetic changes in the offspring.

In the study conducted using rats, the researchers found that fetuses receiving poor nutrition in the womb become genetically primed to be born into an environment lacking proper nutrition. As a result, the rats were likely to grow to smaller sizes than their normal counterparts.

Washington, April 14 : A high-fiber diet has long been considered beneficial in staving off colon cancer. Now, researchers at Medical College of Georgia have found that roughage keeps the disease at bay by activating a receptor with cancer killing potential.

The GPR109A receptor is activated by butyrate, a metabolite produced by fiber-eating bacteria in the colon.

Washington, Apr 14 : People who smoke both tobacco and marijuana increase their risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study has found.

Smoking only marijuana, however, was not associated with increased risks, the CMAJ study claimed.

The study, which surveyed 878 people aged 40 years or more in Vancouver, Canada, was part of the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) Initiative that sought to determine the prevalence of COPD in adults over 40 years in the general population.

Washington, April 14 : Researchers at University College London (UCL) have identified a protein, known as serum amyloid P component (SAP), which may be a possible therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease.

Lead researchers Professor Mark Pepys FRS has even developed a new small molecule drug, CPHPC, which specifically targets SAP and removes it from the blood.

Washington, Apr 14 : Heart patients who become depressed are at greater risk for heart failure (HF), a condition in which the heart can''t pump enough blood throughout the body, says a new study.

The study published in the April 21, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is the first to investigate the influence of depression after heart disease on the likelihood of developing HF.

The research also found that taking antidepressant medications to ease depressive symptoms did not appear to mitigate this risk.

Washington, Apr 14 : Former prison inmates are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who have never been incarcerated, says a new study.

What's more, young adults who have been incarcerated appear more likely to have left ventricular hypertrophy, an enlarging of the heart muscle that is a common consequence of hypertension, according to a report in the April 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.