A person’s genetic makeup can play a role in determining whether they can stick to a strict vegetarian diet or not, according to a new study. The research, published on Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, may lead to further studies on personalised dietary recommendations and the production of meat substitutes. While a large fraction of people self-identify as mainly “vegetarians”, they also report eating fish, poultry and/or red meat, suggesting there may be environmental or biological constraints that override one’s desire to adhere to a vegetarian diet, said scientists, including those from Northwestern University in the US. “It seems there are more people who would like to be vegetarian than actually are, and we think it’s because there is something hard-wired here that people may be missing,” study co-author Nabeel Yaseen said. In the study, researchers compared UK Biobank genetic data from 5,324 strict vegetarians – consuming no fish, poultry or red meat – to 329,455 controls. Scientists found three genes linked with vegetarianism and another 31 genes that are potentially associated. Several of these genes, according to the study, are involved in lipid (fat) metabolism and/or brain function including two of the top three (NPC1 and RMC1). “My speculation is there may be lipid component(s) present in meat that some people need. And maybe people whose genetics favor vegetarianism are able to synthesize these components endogenously,” Dr Yaseen said. “However, at this time, this is mere speculation and much more work needs to be done to understand the physiology of vegetarianism,” he said. While vegetarianism is increasing in popularity, vegetarians remain a small minority of people worldwide, with 2.3 per cent of adults and 1.9 per cent of children in the UK identifying as vegetarian. Scientists believe the driving factor for food and drink preference is not just taste, but also how an individual’s body metabolises it. Citing an example, they said when trying alcohol for the first time, most people would not find it pleasurable for the first time, but develop a taste because of how alcohol is over time. “I think with meat, there’s something similar. Perhaps you have a certain component – I’m speculating a lipid component – that makes you need it and crave it,” Dr Yaseen said. “While religious and moral considerations certainly play a major role in the motivation to adopt a vegetarian diet, our data suggest that the ability to adhere to such a diet is constrained by genetics,” he said. Scientists hope future studies will lead to a better understanding of the physiologic differences between vegetarians and meat eaters. They said such an understanding would enable personalised dietary recommendations and to produce better meat substitutes. Read More Six healthy recipes that both you and your gut will love Father sparks debate for giving his son non-vegan food behind his wife’s back From leaf crisps to pudding, India’s ‘super food’ millet finds its way onto the G20 dinner menu

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Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled the government cannot simply decree that tourist trains or other public work projects are issues of “national security,” because that violates the public's right to information

A New Yorker piece has gained a lot of attention after revealing that American comedian Hasan Minhaj made-up a lot of the stories at the centre of his comedy, and fans are outraged. Minjah, an Asian American and Muslim American, based a lot of his comedy around those experiences, and his Netflix series Patriot Act won an Emmy. Speaking to writer Clare Malone, Minjah told her "every story in my style is built around a seed of truth". In a Patriot Act segment Minhaj tells the disturbing story of a letter sent to him filled with a white powder that spilled onto his young daughter, who was subsequently rushed to hospital. It turned out not to be anthrax, but served as a reminder of the consequences of Minhaj's comedy. But Malone did some digging and found at there is no record of such an incident. Not from the NYPD, local hospitals, or front-desk and mailroom employees at Minaj's former residence. During her conversation with Minhaj, he admitted that "his daughter had never been exposed to a white power, and that she hadn't been hospitalised". He told Malone that he didn't think he was manipulating his audience when she asked, "It's grounded in truth," he said. Another well known story of Minhaj is from his 2017 Netflix special Homecoming King, where he talks of a white girl he had a crush on, kissed, and invited to prom, only to show up the night of the dance to the girl going to prom with another guy. Onstage, Minhaj said that the girl's parents didn't want their daughter to take pictures with a brown boy because they were concerned what relatives may think. "I didn't know that people could be bigoted even as they were smiling at you," Minhaj says during the show. But the woman in the story disputes it, saying that she had turned down Minhaj, then a close friend, days before prom. Minhaj admitted this was correct, but said he had a different understanding go her rejection and there was an "emotional truth" to the story. The woman also shared that she had faced online threats and doxing for years after Minhaj failed to successfully disguise her identity. According to some former Patriot Act employees, members of the research team felt he could be dismissive of the fact-checking process. Malone reported that, "in one instance, Minhaj grew frustrated that fact-checking was stymying the creative flow during a final rewrite, and a pic of female researchers were asked to leave the writers' room." In a written statement, Minhaj insisted that "fact-checking at Patriot Act was extremely rigorous". When fans and viewers of Minhaj's content read Malone's piece, they were shocked and appalled. Some called his ego "terrifying", whilst others said it is "not okay to make up instances of threat over journalism". Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Declan Rice is refusing to say goodbye to West Ham just yet as Premier League suitors prepare bids.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 30, 2023--

Chinese stocks rose from Monday’s open, extending last week’s gains, on increasing signs Beijing is determined to shore

Engineers in Japan have created a 3.5-ton robot suit that resembles a character from a hugely popular animation series, which they hope to use for space exploration and in emergency situations. Tokyo-based start-up Tsubame Industries developed the 4.5-metre-tall (14.8-feet), four-wheeled Archax robot that looks like “Mobile Suit Gundam” from the 1970s Japanese show of the same name. Named after the avian dinosaur archaeopteryx, the $3 million (£2.5m) robot has cockpit monitors that receive images from cameras hooked up to the exterior so that the pilot can manoeuvre the arms and hands with joysticks from inside its torso. The robot, which will be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show later this month, has two modes: the upright ‘robot mode’ and a ‘vehicle mode’ in which it can travel up to 10 km (6 miles) per hour. “Japan is very good at animation, games, robots and automobiles so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all these elements into one,” said Ryo Yoshida, the 25-year-old chief executive of Tsubame Industries. “I wanted to create something that says, ‘This is Japan’.” Mr Yoshida plans to build and sell five of the machines for the well-heeled robot fan, but hopes the robot could one day be used for disaster relief or in the space industry. Mr Yoshida became interested in manufacturing at an early age, learning how to weld at his grandfather’s ironworks and then going on to found a company that produces myoelectric prosthetic hands. He said he is eager to keep Japan’s competitive edge in manufacturing alive. “I hope to learn from previous generations and carry on the tradition,” he said. Tsubame Industries is one of several startups working on robotic exoskeletons, with applications ranging from assisting delivery workers with heavy loads, to military “super soldier” suits. The US military has already unveiled several exoskeleton prototypes, with one such device claiming to offer Marines the strength and ability of up to 10 troops. “The ultimate goal is to provide troops with an edge by boosting their capabilities and dramatically improving safety and productivity in a variety of logistics applications,” the company behind it, Sarcos Robotics, said in 2020. Additional reporting from agencies. Read More MIT invents self-replicating AI robots Japan startup unveils 15-foot robot suit for space exploration TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland New discovery is ‘holy grail’ breakthrough in search for aliens, scientist say

The Roy children took a pleasant swim together in the "Succession" finale, which turned out to be a perfect prelude to the show's parting demonstration of the perils of swimming with sharks, and the fact their imperious father left shoe they struggled to fill.

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By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has filed a lawsuit alleging financial elder abuse and

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