Why only some smokers die young

Ever wondered why only some heavy drinkers and smokers die young while others live to a ripe old age? Well, the answer lies in the genes, say scientists. An international team has identified two genes that it claims increases the chances of an unhealthy lifestyle, giving a drinker or a smoker cancer — in fact the genes put carriers more at a heightened risk of developing cancers of skin, lung, bladder, prostate and cervical.

Lead scientist Tim Bishop of University of Leeds said cancer was often caused by a “complex” interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and these newly identified genes could go some way to explaining their relationship. The findings, according to them, could allow doctors to identify those most at risk from suffering the potentially deadly conditions due to a combination of genetics and their lifestyle, the Daily Telegraph reported. In fact, the scientists were able to isolate the genes by looking at the genetic make up of more than 33,000 cancer survivors and another 45 ,000 people who had never suffered from the disease.

They then compared the genes against their carrier’s lifestyle and history of the disease. While they increased the chance of suffering from five types of cancer the genes were not linked to an increased risk of another nine cancers for which the scientists could test, including breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease in women, the findings revealed.

The research has been published in the latest edition of the Nature Genetics journal. Smoking has previously been linked to lung and bladder cancer, drinking to different types of cancer including liver cancer, and eating a diet high in red meat to an increased risk of bowel cancer. But researchers have never been clear on the exact nature of how these exposures increase risk, and why some people appear more prone to their effects than others.

Too much coffee can cause hallucinations

Hearing voices when nobody is around, or seeing things that aren’t there? Too much caffeine could be to blame, British researchers reported on Wednesday.

Their study found that students who consumed more than the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to have had these kinds of hallucinations compared to people on a single daily cup.

“This is the first step toward looking at the wider factors associated with hallucinations,” said Simon Jones, a psychologist at Durham University in Britain who led the study.
The findings are also the latest in mounting evidence indicating the amount of caffeine a person consumes may directly affect a person’s health. Recent studies have suggested caffeine may lower a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer, and that too much doubles the risk of miscarriage.

Currently, people treated for hallucinations receive drugs or counselling, but Jones said his study aims to explore whether changing a person’s diet could help.

“This is the first time to my knowledge that caffeine and hallucinations have been looked at,” Jones said.

STRESS HORMONE
For the study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, Jones and colleagues asked 200 students about their typical intake of coffee, tea, energy drinks and other products containing caffeine. They also measured stress.

Students who consumed the most caffeine were more likely to report hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there, the researchers said.

The stress hormone cortisol may help explain the link, Jones said. Researchers know the body releases more of the hormone after people consume caffeine, and this extra boost may fuel hallucinations. The next step is to test whether caffeine is actually causing hallucinations or whether people who have them simply consume more caffeine when under pressure, Jones said.
“It may be that those who have hallucinations have high levels of worry and anxiety and that leads them to consume more caffeine,” Joanes said.