Obese Male Mice Father Offspring With Higher Levels of Body Fat (its not only mums epigenetics that matter!?)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130616155202.htm

To conduct the study, the researchers fed male mice a high-fat diet for 13 weeks before mating. (The female mates were fed a matched low-fat diet.) Male and female offspring were fed a standard low-fat diet and studied at 20 days, six weeks and at six and 12 months. [ to me this suggests that the effects are solely transmited by the male, and probably reflect epigenetic change in either choice of gene transfer (heresy I hear you cry!), or aspects of gene expression. The fact that it is from the male father is what makes things of interest. So its not just mum's health before and during pregnancy and breast feeding that is key, but also likely the father's state of health... (even if it turns out to be less so?)

Compared with offspring from control mice (who were fed the low-fat diet), the male offspring of paternal mice with diet-induced obesity had higher body weight at six weeks of age. They also were more obese at the six- and 12-month study markers. In addition, the male offspring of obese fathers had different patterns of body fat composition -- a marker for health and propensity for disease -- than the control mice.

The researchers were surprised, however, to find that the offspring of the obese paternal mice also were more physically active. At six weeks, the male offspring voluntarily ran more, and their female siblings demonstrated the same behavior at six and 12 months, the scientists report. Nowak's team is studying possible causes for this behavior, which might offset the increased body fat and reduce the offspring's risk of metabolic disease such as diabetes and heart disease.

Herbal extract may extend lifespan independently of calorie restriction mechanism (SIRT)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130618125112.htm

herbal extract  of a yellow-flowered mountain plant(Rhodiola rosea)  long used for stress relief was found to increase the lifespan of fruit fly populations by an average of 24 percent, independent of calorie restriction pathways

Rhodiola rosea, also known as golden root…Rhodiola works in a manner completely unrelated to dietary restriction and affects different molecular pathways.

The researchers proved this by putting flies on a calorie-restricted diet. It has been shown that flies live longer when the amount of yeast they consume is decreased. Jafari and Schriner expected that if Rhodiola functioned in the same manner as dietary restriction, it would not work in these flies. But it did. They also tested Rhodiola in flies in which the molecular pathways of dietary restriction had been genetically inactivated. It still worked.

Not only did Rhodiola improve lifespan an average of 24 percent in both sexes and multiple strains of flies, but it also delayed the loss of physical performance in flies as they aged and even extended the lives of old flies. Jafari's group previously had shown that the extract decreased the natural production of reactive oxygen species molecules in the fly mitochondria and protected both flies and cultured human cells against oxidative stress.

Rhodiola has already shown possible health benefits in humans, such as decreasing fatigue, anxiety and depression; boosting mood, memory and stamina; and preventing altitude sickness. Grown in cold climates at high elevations, the herb has been used for centuries by Scandinavians and Russians to reduce stress. It's also thought to have antioxidant properties.

Jafari's research group is currently exploring the plant's potential to kill cancer cells, improve Alzheimer's disease and help stem cells grow.

Rhodiola is readily available online and in health food stores. Jafari, though, has analyzed several commercial products and found them to not contain sufficient amounts of the reputed active compounds -- such as rosavin and salidroside -- that characterize high-quality products.