Can a baby predict the environment it will be born into?

閱讀難度：

A mother's diet during pregnancy can alter the DNA of her child and increase the risk of obesity, according to researchers, the BBC reports.

The study, to be published in the journal Diabetes, showed that eating low levels of carbohydrates changed bits of a child's DNA. It then showed children with these changes were fatter.

It is thought that a developing baby tries to predict the environment it will be born into, taking cues from its mother and therefore adjusting its DNA.

Studies in animals have shown that changes in diet can alter the function of genes, which known as epigenetic change.

In these studies, the researchers took samples from the umbilical cord and looked for "epigenetic markers". They showed that mothers with early pregnancy diets low in carbohydrates, such as sugars and starch, gave birth to children with these markers. Researchers then proved a strong link between those same markers and childhood obesity in subjects aged six to nine. （點(diǎn)擊英國(guó)廣播公司網(wǎng)站查看原文）

孕期節(jié)食會(huì)改變胎兒基因

?????? 據(jù)英國(guó)廣播公司報(bào)道，研究人員稱，母親懷孕期間節(jié)食會(huì)改變孩子的DNA，增加孩子肥胖風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

?????? 這項(xiàng)即將發(fā)表在《糖尿病》雜志的研究顯示，食用較少的碳水化合物會(huì)改變孩子的部分DNA。之后，基因發(fā)生此類改變的孩子會(huì)更胖。

?????? 胎兒一直在娘胎里尋求線索，預(yù)測(cè)自己出生后的環(huán)境，然后通過改變DNA來調(diào)整適應(yīng)。

?????? 動(dòng)物研究表明，改變飲食可以改變基因的功能——這就是所謂的“后生變化”。

?????? 在這項(xiàng)研究中，研究者們從臍帶中取樣并尋找“后生變化標(biāo)記物”，結(jié)果顯示懷孕早期攝取較少的碳水化合物，如糖和淀粉，生出的孩子會(huì)有此類標(biāo)記物，之后在6至9歲的肥胖兒童中也發(fā)現(xiàn)了此類標(biāo)記物，從而證明了兩者的密切聯(lián)系。

(China.org.cn May 3, 2011)