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We can blame a lot on our parents—our weird Christmas traditions or inexplicable fear of balloons for instance—but one thing we have to take credit for is our oral health. A new study involving twin siblings has found that there are some aspects of our oral health that are hereditary, but the factors that play a role in our likelihood of developing cavities are all our own. It’s pretty clear by now that there is bacteria everywhere, but when it comes to the human body, the warm, moist mouth is a particular hotspot for these little critters. Recently, researchers from The J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit genomics research center, took a closer look at some of the bacteria that makes a home in our mouths to determine the limits of genetics on oral health. “What we are seeing here is that in general you do indeed inherit the microbes that make up your mouth from your parents,” Dr. Chris Dupont, one of the researchers involved with the study, told Newsweek. “But it turned out that the microbes you inherit from your parents don’t generally cause cavities. Instead, it’s more due to what you eat, your lifestyle and your diet.” Keep up with this story and more by subscribing now For the study, the team looked at twins, both fraternal and identical, to better understand the role that genetics play in our oral health. The team also specifically looked at twins from the ages of 5 to 11, because they hypothesized that younger children would have an oral microbiome that more closely resembled the one they were born with than adults. In addition, younger twins are more likely to share the same environment than older twins. Cavities are formed when bacteria in the mouth convert sugar to acidic plaque that eats away at the tooth. Therefore, the type of bacteria in your mouth plays a major role in how likely you are to get cavities. However, the study results emphasized that we do not inherit these cavity-forming bacteria from mom and dad, but rather pick them up through our own poor lifestyle choices. In addition to uncovering the origin of mouth bacteria, the study found that the amount of hereditary bacteria in our mouth diminishes over time. The findings are novel, as it’s the first time that researchers have actually sequenced the bacteria inside our mouths. They traced both where they come from, and what they do or don’t do. “I think this actually emphasizes what we already believe, that it’s your habit and lifestyle that influence cavities, and that it’s important to brush your teeth and limit sugar intake,” said Dupont. And what are inherited bacteria responsible for? It's still a mystery, but the J. Craig Venter Institute plans follow-up studies to find out exactly how much mom and dad are to blame. |
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As vintages go, 2017 does not look like it will be a very good year in California’s famed Napa Valley. As of Tuesday, uncontained fires have raged over more than 50,000 acres of northern California’s wine region, and Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency. Local emergency personnel and winery staff are focused on protecting people first, but multiple vineyards have already been consumed in the blazes. The loss of hundreds of acres of vines will no doubt affect future years’ production, but even grapes that have already been harvested may end up with smoke taint, which occurs when finished wine picks up a smoky flavor from compounds absorbed by grape skins during a fire. Keep up with this story and more by subscribing now The Signarello Estate winery in Napa, California, was damaged by a wildfire that moved through the area, on October 9. As of Tuesday, uncontained fires have raged over more than 50,000 acres of northern California’s wine region. Multiple vineyards have already been consumed in the blazes. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images California vineyards had a particularly bad experience with smoke taint in 2008, when, fires earlier in the growing season left vines, particularly in Mendocino County, northwest of Napa, bathed in smoke. Vintners are struggling to decide whether their wine was even worth selling. Smoke taint is more severe in red wines because there is increased contact between the wine and the grape skins during the winemaking process. In theory, smoke taste could be lessened by reducing that contact time. Winemakers can also add an activated carbon compound, according to Kerry Wilkinson, a wine chemist at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Burned wine bottles at the Signarello Estate winery in Napa, California. There is concern that even grapes untouched by fire might have smoke taint. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Cabernet Sauvignon and dessert wine grapes are especially vulnerable to smoke taint because they are typically harvested late in the year, according to James Harbertson, a wine chemist at Washington State University’s Wine Science Center. Smoke is not the only issue right now. The Wine Institute, a group of 1,000 California wineries, said some fermentation plants have been hit by temporary power outages, which could delay grape processing. These could also affect the final wine, John Aguirre, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, told Newsweek. “We’ve heard reports of wineries in affected areas redirecting harvested grapes to wineries outside of fire-threatened areas, so that those grapes can be processed in a timely manner,” he said. Smoke looms over vines at the Gundlach Bundschu winery in Sonoma, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The crisis will continue long after the fires are extinguished, experts said. Heat can damage individual vines, even if they aren’t burned, and sometimes the damage is permanent, Wilkinson adds. Across Napa County, there are 45,000 acres of wine grapes, almost one-tenth of the county’s area. And of course, the vineyards that have suffered direct fire damage will face steep rebuilding challenges. “It is very expensive to plant grapes in California, let alone Napa and Sonoma Valley, and very expensive to build anything, not to mention regulations and permits,” Harbertson told Newsweek in an email. “The economic losses here can be quite severe.” Tags: LTE M2M Router, 4g vpn router, VPN wireless router, LTE router VPN, dual sim LTE router |