Kiran Chug of the Dominion Post reports that a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition could soon become far more personal, thanks to nutrigenomics.

Nutrigenomics is the study of how our genetic make-up affects which foods are good for each of us, personally, and also how different foods and micronutrients can in turn affect our DNA.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Professor Lynn Ferguson, the head of nutrition at Auckland University, said the developments helped explain why some people did not see benefits when they changed their diet to one they had been told was better for them.

“”There’s always been a proportion of people dieticians think might be cheating because they don’t respond.”

“A nutrigenomics research programme was under way in Auckland which would help sufferers of the “debilitating” Crohn’s disease, which Prof Ferguson said there was a high instance of in New Zealand.”

What sorts of foods should you — personally — eat to be healthiest?

Nutrigenomics studies the interaction between our genes and the foods we eat. Specifically, it looks at how people with different genetic makeups are affected by different foods, with the aim of matching people to the foods that suit them best.

This emerging field brings together scientists, policy makers and health professionals in pursuit of the goal of one day providing personalised nutrition advice, and developing functional foods that will optimise health according to individual needs.

This week in Auckland, the 4th Asia Pacific Nutrigenomics Conference brings together experts from around the world to discuss this burgeoning science, and the Science Media Centre has selected an online panel to talk about the field, its potential benefits, and what’s happening in New Zealand.

Following the briefing, the audio will be posted to the SMC website, and  registered journalists can access the slides from the SMC Resource Library.

SPEAKERS

Dr Jim Kaput – Director, Division of Personalised Nutrition and Medicine, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Dr Kaput joined the FDA/National Center for Toxicological Research in November 2007.  He also has adjunct appointments in the Division of Genetics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Adinovo Center for Genetic & Genomic Medicine at Zhejing University (Hangzhou, China). In addition, he is an active member of the Human Variome Project (http://www.humanvariome.org) which seeks to seeks to analyze genetic variation in individuals in ancestral groups around the world.

Dr Michael Fenech – Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences

Dr Fenech has more than 20 years of research experience in the field of genetic toxicology and nutrition. His current research focus is Genome Health Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics i.e. the investigation of how genetic and nutritional background determines nutritional requirement for genome maintenance or prevention of genome damage on an individual-by-individual basis.

Prof Lynette Ferguson – Programme leader, Nutrigenomics New Zealand; Head of Nutrition, University of Auckland

Prof Ferguson studies mutagenesis in cancer development, DNA damage and repair, and cancer in the New Zealand context. Given that some of the most common major cancers in New Zealand are associated with dietary causes, much of her basic research has focused on understanding the role of dietary fibre and other protective dietary factors in cancer. She is also Director of Mutagen Testing at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC).

Part I – Jim Kaput and Michael Fenech

Part II – Michael Fenech and Lynnette Ferguson

Further Information

To follow up on this topic with our speakers or other New Zealand experts, please contact the Science Media Centre on tel: 04 499 5476 or email: smc@sciencemediacentre.co.nz

Nutrigenomics – what is it exactly?

Genes, diet and gut health will be the focus of discussion in Auckland next week as scientists, nutritionists and food technologists gather for a conference looking at what the latest research says about how foods affect gene expression and therefore human health.

It is early days for nutrigenomics, but a group of New Zealand scientific organisations have an interest in this area and are interested in developing foods that can be matched to individual human genotypes to offer individualised health and nutritional benefits.

The conference features a range of international guests, including a lecture on public health nutrigenomics from Dr John Milner of the US’s National Cancer Institute.

IPCC errors – a scientist’s perspective

Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy at Massey University’s Centre for Energy Research weighs into the climate change debate today with a column on news commentary website Pundit.co.nz.

Sims was a contributor to the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report and as he points out in the column, a minor error was found in one of the chapters he authored – one which was introduced by the graphic artist creating a map accompanying the chapter. Sims further points out that such a weighty scientific document will contain errors, but that they do not undermine the validity of the conclusions the IPCC comes to in its 2007 report.

“…surely the most critical question of all is whether the threat of climate change, as presented by the science, has been now shown to be lower than was originally thought.

“If we take out of the equation the East Anglia models (accepting that such e-mails as reported were somewhat bizarre); the erroneous glacier report; the poorly analysed African food paper; the ocean energy potential error; and any other errors maybe still to be uncovered out of the thousands of pages, then can someone now produce a scientific paper arguing that there is NO RISK to mankind from anthropogenic climate change?”

DNA forensics – it’s come a long way

Dr Peter Gill of Strathclyde University doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry on him, but he was one of three researchers who effectively gave life to the science of DNA back in the mid-eighties and, as such, revolutionised how investigations of serious crimes are carried out.

Dr Gill was in New Zealand this week to work with scientists at ESR and to help celebrate 20 years of DNA forensics in New Zealand. The SMC held a briefing featuring Dr Gill and ESR’s Dr Sally Ann Harbison, which you can listen to here.

Also on Sciblogs: Peter Griffin looks at DNA profiling, its history, its future, and the problems it faces along the way.

Anna Sandiford looks at the CSI effect and the public perception of the capabilities of forensic science.