The relationship between birth-weight and heart disease is well documented and is thought to arise from altered developmental trajectories leading to persistent deficits in organ structure and function.

Most animal studies looking at the effects of adverse in utero environment have been studied in the context of fetal hypoxia. Less is known regarding the cardiac consequences of maternal malnutrition, a common cause of fetal growth restriction.

In this episode, ECI Dr. Brian Stansfield from Augusta University, Georgia, US and his team use a new guinea pig model to test the effects of global maternal nutrient restriction spanning pre-gestation, gestation, and lactation.

Related link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-018-0069-x

Related article:

The New York pilot newborn screening program for lysosomal storage diseases: Report of the First 65,000 Infants

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-018-0129-y

Paradigm shifts in newborn screening?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-018-0130-5

Related link:

The impact of variant classification on the clinical management of hereditary cancer syndromes

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-018-0063-z

While the influence of sweet taste on neurocognitive function has been widely studied, umami or savory has received less of a research focus. Animal models and even some small human studies seem to show that umami given in a broth before a meal can influence appetite and food intake. And this inspired Dr. Miguel Alonso-Alonso, Assistant Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Bariatric and Nutritional Neuroscience at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He and his colleagues decided to test the influence of glutamate on behavior and food choice, as well as the neurocognitive mechanisms that might be affecting such behavioral changes.

Related article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0044-6

This episode of the Heredity Podcast is all about applying new genetics methods to understudied organisms! Join us as we explore a novel metric for evolutionary and conservation genetics with salp expert Dr William Goodall-Copestake (British Antarctic Survey). Then stick around to hear Prof. Brad Shafer and Dr Evan McCartney-Melstad (University of California, Los Angeles) discuss their recent application of genomics tools when revisiting the population genetics of a Californian frog.

Related articles:

nrDNA:mtDNA copy number ratios as a comparative metric for evolutionary and conservation genetics

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-018-0088-8

Population genomic data reveal extreme geographic subdivision and novel conservation actions for the declining foothill yellow-legged frog

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-018-0097-7

During her PhD Maria Luisa Tataranno performed research into early biomarkers of brain development in preterm neonates. Now a fellow of neonatal neurology of the Wilhelmia Children's Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Maria and her team have published a paper into the associations between early brain activity and changes in brain morphology and microstructure.

In this episode, Maria tells us about her career as a clinical scientist and advocates the early monitoring of preterm neonate brain activity with electroencephalography.

Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/pr20187

Patients with sickle cell disease often experience severe pain as a result of vaso-occlusive episodes. Typically their pain is managed with opioids, however some patients experience continued and increasing pain, believed to be as a result of opioid-induced hyperalgesia or tolerance. Many patients go on to develop chronic pain which is thought to have a neuropathic component, for which opioids are ineffective.

Ketamine has been suggested as an adjuvant to opioids to treat chronic and acute pain.

In this episode, we meet an Early Career Investigator, Dr. Raissa Nobrega, who has a passion for paediatric pain management and who recently published an exploratory study into the patient characteristics that affect the response to ketamine and opioids in these patients.

Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/pr2017283

Obesity has been shown to be linked with a host of physiological and psychological problems, such as cancer, diabetes and depression. In adults, obesity has also been shown to be related to decreased cognitive function and structural brain differences. The evidence for this effect on cognition is less well established in children and adolescents. In this episode we meet Dr. Stijn Vantieghem from the ARCS research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel who conducted a 30 week weight-loss program for obese adolescents to test its effects on their cognitive function.

Article link;

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-018-0047-3

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the United States. It's all been steadily rising, along with rising obesity levels. Currently, early interventions for NAFLD include dietary, lifestyle counselling, and vitamin supplementation.

Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may be involved in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

In this episode, we hear from ECI Maggie Stanislawski from the University of Colorado on her work to expand the options for early intervention into this condition.

Article link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/pr201832

In this month's episode of the Heredity Podcast we are all about the mouth! First, we discuss the genetics underlying molar teeth development and inhibition with French morphometrician Dr Nicolas Navarro. Following this, Brazilian researcher Dr Maria Marta Pastina explains all about an emerging plant breeding method called genomic selection, and how her team is using it to develop more drought tolerate maize crops.

Finally, make sure to stick around to the end of the episode to hear a short message directed at you, the listener, and discover how you can be featured on the podcast.

Related articles:

Genetic mapping of molar size relations identifies inhibitory locus for third molars in mice

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-017-0033-2

Improving accuracies of genomic predictions for drought tolerance in maize by joint modeling of additive and dominance effects in multi-environment trials

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-018-0053-6