Carrying a resentment is like being pregnant. Everyone else sees it but your the one that feels it. David Chalkley
A group of drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston universities identify entire networks of genes – also present in humans – that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior.
This discovery provides a significant explanation of why some people seem to tolerate alcohol better than others, as well as a potential target for drugs aimed at preventing or eliminating alcoholism. This finding also sheds new light on many of the negative side effects of drinking, such as liver damage.
The researchers first measured the amount of time it took for the fruit flies to lose postural control (fall down) after the exposure to alcohol. At the same time, changes in the expression of all the flies genes were recorded. Using statistical methods to identify genes that work together, the scientists were able to pinpoint specific genes that played a crucial role in adaptation relating to alcohol exposure. The expression of the human counterpart of a critical gene in fruit flies could be directly tied to alcohol consumption in humans.
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