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Unlocking the Genetic Puzzle of Obesity Across Sexes and Ages – SciTechDaily

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A study has identified genes that influence obesity risk differently across sexes and age groups, offering new insights into the biological pathways of obesity. These discoveries underscore the importance of considering sex and age in obesity research and could lead to new treatments.

Researchers have discovered genes that impact obesity risk differently in men and women and across various ages, revealing potential new pathways for understanding and treating obesity.

From influencing how our body stores fat to how our brain regulates appetite, hundreds of genes, along with environmental factors, collectively determine our weight and body size. Now, researchers add several genes, that appear to affect obesity risk in certain sexes and ages, to that list. The study, published in the journal Cell Genomics, may shed light on new biological pathways that underlie obesity and highlight how sex and age contribute to health and disease.

There are a million and one reasons why we should be thinking about sex, age, and other specific mechanisms rather than just lumping everyone together and assuming that disease mechanism works the same way for everyone, says senior author John Perry, a geneticist and professor at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, U.K. Were not expecting people to have completely different biology, but you can imagine things like hormones and physiology can contribute to specific risks.

To untangle sexs role in obesity risk, the research team sequenced the exomethe protein-coding part of the genomeof 414,032 adults from the UK Biobank study. They looked at variants, or mutations, within genes associated with body mass index (BMI) in men and women, respectively. Based on height and weight, BMI is an estimated measurement of obesity. The search turned up five genes influencing BMI in women and two in men.

Researchers identified age-specific and sex-specific obesity genes by looking into the genome of 414,032 people from the UK. Credit: Cell Genomics/Kaisinger et al.

Among them, faulty variants of three genesDIDO1, PTPRG, and SLC12A5are linked to higher BMI in women, up to nearly 8 kg/m more, while having no effect on men. Over 80% of the women with DIDO1 and SLC12A5 variants had obesity, as approximated by their BMI. Individuals carrying DIDO1 variants had stronger associations with higher testosterone levels and increased waist-to-hip ratio, both risk indicators for obesity-related complications like diabetes and heart disease. Others with SLC12A5 variants had higher odds of having type 2 diabetes compared with non-carriers. These findings highlight previously unexplored genes that are implicated in the development of obesity in women but not men.

Perry and his colleague then repeated their method to look for age-specific factors by searching for gene variants associated with childhood body size based on participants recollections. They identified two genes, OBSCN and MADD, that were not previously linked to childhood body size and fat. While carriers of OBSCN variants had higher odds of having higher weight as a child, MADD variant carriers were associated with smaller body sizes. In addition, the genetic variants acting on MADD had no association with adult obesity risk, highlighting age-specific effects on body size.

Whats quite surprising is that if you look at the function of some of these genes that we identified, several are clearly involved in DNA damage response and cell death, says Perry. Obesity is a brain-related disorder, whereas biological and environmental factors act to influence appetite. Theres currently no well-understood biological paradigm for how DNA damage response would influence body size. These findings have given us a signpost to suggest variation in this important biological process may play a role in the etiology of obesity.

Next, the research team hopes to replicate the study in a larger and more diverse population. They also plan to study the genes in animals to peer into their function and relationship with obesity.

Were at the very earliest stages of identifying interesting biology, says Perry. We hope the study can reveal new biological pathways that may one day pave the way to new drug discovery for obesity.

Reference: Large-scale exome sequence analysis identifies sex- and age-specific determinants of obesity by Lena R. Kaisinger, Katherine A. Kentistou, Stasa Stankovic, Eugene J. Gardner, Felix R. Day, Yajie Zhao, Alexander Mrseburg, Christopher J. Carnie, Guido Zagnoli-Vieira, Fabio Puddu, Stephen P. Jackson, Stephen ORahilly, I. Sadaf Farooqi, Laura Dearden, Lucas C. Pantaleo, Susan E. Ozanne, Ken K. Ong and John R.B. Perry, 2 August 2023, Cell Genomics. DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100362

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Unlocking the Genetic Puzzle of Obesity Across Sexes and Ages - SciTechDaily

Climate Justice at COP28: Perspectives of Caribbean Feminist Activists – Ms. Magazine

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A cohort of Caribbean feminist groups are making sure that womens role in climate action doesnt go unacknowledged. Kerryne JamesGrenadas minister for climate resilience, the environment and renewable energyspeaks during a COP28 session on Dec. 5, 2023. (Dominika Zarzycka / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Right now, political leaders, corporate representatives and climate activists are gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change ConferenceCOP28to discuss approaches to mitigating the climate crisis. Gender equality has been identified as a thematic priority within the COP28 agenda, and gender practitioners and activists alike are waiting expectantly to learn about how women and other marginalized groups will factor into decisions around just transition, climate finance, and loss and damage negotiations.

Calls for climate justice to underpin all COP decisions are especially loud among feminist activists, as they seek to build on insights that emerged during Women Deliver 2023.

We caught up with feminist climate activists in the Caribbean on what climate justice means to them and what their expectations are of COP28.

In the Caribbean, women and girls are the face of climate action, and are at the forefront of transformative climate solutions. They have played a critical role in raising awareness about climate change, lobbying for more ambitious strategies by regional governments, and supporting coalitions that influenced changes in global policies.

Despite this, women remain underrepresented in environmental decision-making, underfunded in climate action initiatives, and are often portrayed as passive victims of climate change rather than holders of solutions.

But a cohort of Caribbean feminist groups are making sure that womens role in climate action doesnt go unacknowledged. They are working on a feminist approach to climate justice that aims to address the root causes of inequality; transform power relations; and promote the rights of women, girls and all historically marginalized people.

Yet, even among feminists, climate justice doesnt mean only one thingit can take on different meanings and interpretations based on the unique historical and socio-political experiences of their community.

For Marisa Hutchinson, a Black Caribbean feminist from Barbados who works with women in the Global South, climate justice means that we are not only given a seat at the table to contribute to decision-making processes at all levels, but that our role in the fight against climate change be acknowledged and women and others marginalized by the crisis be seen as knowledge holders in their own rights.

This year, Im seeing clearly my personal connection to COP, said Christine Samwaroo, an intersectional feminist based in Guyana who works at the intersection of environmental justice and gender justice.

Samwaroo had planned to attend COP28 this year, but was unable to go due to an emergency. She acknowledged how structural barrierssuch as visa requirements and travel costsmake it difficult for feminist activists to attend COP, especially those from the Global South.

Feminist actors are calling for COP to center the priorities and needs of communities most impacted by climate change, instead of those organizations that are most responsible for contributing to the problem. But this years COP negotiations are seeing the largest wave of corporate capture, causing some actors to refer to it as an unhinged political farce.

Maybe COP stands for Controversies of the Parties, Samwaroo said.

Still, she said, shes deeply invested in feminist participation at COP. Ill be supporting my fellow climate advocates that are going and being in solidarity with them, because I know how stressful it is being in a different country with so many different rules for two weeks.

Through the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance, she is also co-coordinating a Caribbean-wide campaign called Truth Be Told: A Caribbean Call to Action on Gender and Climate Justice, through the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance, which aims to work alongside the COP to mobilize awareness, visibility and policy advocacy on gender and climate justice.

But the negotiations taking place at COP28 are only the beginning. Next comes the hard work of pushing for accountability for the commitments made, Samwaroo said. Im really thinking about what happens after COP in the new year, when all of this gets put into action.

At COP28, as it relates to the issue of loss and damage, Hutchinsons expectations are that communities most affected and marginalized as a result of the climate crisis are ensured climate reparations for their suffering. Many actors see the provision of funds to women through the loss and damage funds as key to empowering women to address the impacts of climate at the household and community level.

As members of a community, when women lack access to equitable financial systems, this can impact their livelihoods and autonomy, purchasing power of climate technologies for their homes or businesses, and ability to pay for energy efficiency upgrades.

Feminist actors are advocating for a loss and damage fund that allows for direct financing to women to help catalyze transformational change and promotes feminist funding approaches.

Those severely impacted by climate change and environmental degradationespecially in the Global Southdo not have another decade, or even five years, to wait for a gender-responsive, human rights approach to ensuring their rights and survival.

The Womens Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) in its demands for feminist climate finance said it requires a systemic and structural transformation of our global economic systems and climate finance flows to reach communities and countries on the frontlines of climate impacts, as well as to fund a gender just transition. Until then, the work of feminist funders such as Global Fund for Women is critical to place money directly in the hands of womens organizations working to promote climate resilience for all.

Hutchinsons ask to parties in this years negotiations is to ensure that they dont continue to fail women and those most marginalized. She reminded us that those severely impacted by climate change and environmental degradationespecially in the Global Southdo not have another decade or even five years to wait for a gender-responsive, human rights approach to ensuring their rights and survival.

Feminist actors are calling out government and private sector actors for perpetuating marginalization, discrimination and violence against women human rights defenders and Indigenous land defenders, and of undermining their rights and needs in the COP process. They are demanding that girls, women and youth in all their diversity must be meaningfully included as co-creators and co-leaders in climate decision-making processes and spaces, at all levelsincluding in COP28 and its outcomes.

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Climate Justice at COP28: Perspectives of Caribbean Feminist Activists - Ms. Magazine

Astronaut Mary Cleave, the first woman to fly on NASA’s space shuttle after Challenger disaster, dies at 76 – Orlando Sentinel

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Mary Cleave, the NASA astronaut who in 1989 became the first woman to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster, has died at the age of 76.

NASA did not give a cause of death, the space agency announced last week.

Im sad weve lost trail blazer Dr. Mary Cleave, shuttle astronaut, veteran of two spaceflights, and first woman to lead the Science Mission Directorate as associate administrator, said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana in astatement. Mary was a force of nature with a passion for science, exploration, and caring for our home planet. She will be missed.

Cleave who died Nov. 27 in Annapolis, Maryland, according to the statement was a native of Great Neck, New York, but had lived in Annapolis since 1991. She studied biological sciences at Colorado State University before going on to earn her masters in microbial ecology and a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Utah State University.

Cleave had been inducted into the Maryland Womens Hall of Fame in 2022.

In addition to being one of the first American women in space, Cleave helped develop and lead projects to gather critical information about the effects of climate change.

Always fascinated by airplanes, Cleave said in a March interview with The Capital that she started flying lessons as a 14-year-old, which she funded with her babysitting money.

Although Cleave had a strong interest in aviation, she was too short to be a flight attendant at 5-foot-2 at the time. Instead, she applied to veterinarian school at Cornell University but was not accepted.

They used to discriminate based on gender at all the professional schools vet school, law school, medical school. When Title IX went through, they had to stop that, Cleave said in March. It made a huge difference.

She was accepted to Colorado State Universitys pre-vet program, but when it came time to apply for vet school, she ran into the same roadblock; the programs didnt accept women. She switched her focus to botany.

After Cleave obtained her bachelors degree in biological sciences at Colorado State and her masters degree from Utah State University, the schools dean of the College of Engineering asked her to consider a doctorate in engineering. With Title IX law, there was a new world of options for Cleave to explore.

Partway through her doctorate, a colleague told her about an advertisement at the local post office. For the first time, NASA was recruiting women, people of color and nonmilitary personnel for the astronaut class of 1978. It was a dream job for Cleave flying and science together.

NASA representatives told Cleave they wanted her to complete her doctorate first, which she did before joining the next astronaut class in 1980. The decision meant she missed out on joining the countrys first co-ed astronaut class and the chance to become the first American woman in space, a title held by Sally Ride, but she was glad she finished her degree.

On her first mission, flying on NASAs Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1985, Cleave became the 10th woman to travel into space. On the mission, she served as a flight engineer and helped operate the shuttles robotic arm.

Between her two flights, the Challenger disaster in 1986 had occurred, and Cleave went to work on crew equipment issues following the mission. On the second shuttle flight, as she looked down on the Amazon rainforest, she had a realization that she wanted to return to environmental research.

Cleaves second flight in 1989, STS-30, also on Atlantis, came after NASA had reverted to flying all-male crews for three missions in the wake of the Challenger explosion.

Looking at the Earth, particularly the Amazon rainforest, the amount of deforestation I could see, just in the five years between my two space flights down there, scared the hell out of me, Cleave said in March.

Jeffrey F. Bill/Capital Gazette

In 1991, Cleave moved to Annapolis to be closer to her aging parents, which led her to NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, home of the agencys environmental spacecraft programs.

At Goddard, Cleave managed a project to measure all the phytoplankton in the ocean via spacecraft, developing models to understand carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere.

Cleave went on to do other work gathering data from space to help scientists better understand climate change. She also briefly worked on redesigning the proposal for the International Space Station, after which she was asked to work at NASA headquarters in Washington.

She retired from NASA in 2007. She was a member of the Annapolis Rowing Club and Anne Arundel County Bird Club, and volunteered with the Anne Arundel County League of Women Voters. She also mentored students through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Baltimore Sun Media journalists Dana Munro and Jay Judge, and CNN Wires Service contributed to this article.

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Astronaut Mary Cleave, the first woman to fly on NASA's space shuttle after Challenger disaster, dies at 76 - Orlando Sentinel