Tag: SMU Department of Biological Sciences

New York Times reporter Tara Parker-Pope has covered research carried out in the fruit fly lab of SMU biologist Johannes H. Bauer.

The article on the New York Times Wellness blog covers the research of Bauer and Plano, Texas, high school student Ria Chhabra. “Is Organic Better? Ask a Fruit Fly” appeared April 17.

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Johannes Bauer in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News and Communications at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links

• PLOS One: “Organically grown food provides health benefits to Drosophila melanogaster”
• Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease: “Development of diet-induced insulin resistance in adult Drosophila melanogaster”
• Johannes H. Bauer
• Bauer Lab at SMU
• SMU Department of Biological Sciences
• Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

More SMU Research news

Musicians who learn a new melody demonstrate enhanced skill after a night’s sleep

Bauer, an assistant professor in SMU’s Department of Biological Sciences, mentored Chhabra in her research to examine whether there would be health differences to fruit flies fed an organic diet or a nonorganic diet. Chhabra’s study found that flies fed an organic diet fared better on important health tests, particularly fertility and longevity.

Read the New York Times article.

EXCERPT:

Tara Parker-Pope
New York Times
When Ria Chhabra, a middle school student near Dallas, heard her parents arguing about the value of organic foods, she was inspired to create a science fair project to try to resolve the debate.

Three years later, Ria’s exploration of fruit flies and organic foods has not only raised some provocative questions about the health benefits of organic eating, it has also earned the 16-year-old top honors in a national science competition, publication in a respected scientific journal and university laboratory privileges normally reserved for graduate students.

The research, titled “Organically Grown Food Provides Health Benefits to Drosophila melanogaster,” tracked the effects of organic and conventional diets on the health of fruit flies. By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce.

While the results can’t be directly extrapolated to human health, the research nonetheless paves the way for additional studies on the relative health benefits of organic versus conventionally grown foods. Fruit fly models are often used in research because their short life span allows scientists to evaluate a number of basic biological effects over a relatively brief period of time, and the results provide clues for better understanding disease and biological processes in humans.

Read the New York Times article.

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SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Journalist Ariel Schwartz on Fast Company’s Co.Exist web site has covered research carried out in the fruit fly lab of SMU biologist Johannes H. Bauer.

The article, which covers the research of Bauer and Plano, Texas, high school student Ria Chhabra, appeared April 1, “Organic Food Will Make You Live Longer And Be More Fertile (If You’re A Fly).”

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Johannes Bauer in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News and Communications at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links

• PLOS One: “Organically grown food provides health benefits to Drosophila melanogaster”
• Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease: “Development of diet-induced insulin resistance in adult Drosophila melanogaster”
• Johannes H. Bauer
• Bauer Lab at SMU
• SMU Department of Biological Sciences
• Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

More SMU Research news

Fruit flies fed organic diets are healthier than flies fed nonorganic diets, study finds

Center for Creative Leadership to study innovative learning method of SMU Lyle School of Engineering

Parenting program tackles child abuse and neglect among formerly homeless families

Bauer, an assistant professor in SMU’s Department of Biological Sciences, mentored Chhabra in her research to examine whether there would be health differences to fruit flies fed an organic diet or a nonorganic diet. Chhabra’s study found that flies fed an organic diet fared better on important health tests, particularly fertility and longevity.

Read the Fast Company article.

EXCERPT:

Ariel Schwartz
Fast Company
A new study found that the bugs that ate an organic diet were more healthy and lived longer. So, ask yourself, how much like a fly are you?

Organic food can help you live longer–if you happen to be a fruit fly. A study from researchers at Southern Methodist University found that fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) fed on a diet of organic produce experienced increased fertility and longevity. This could have implications for humans, but don’t start using the study as a pro-organic talking point just yet.

The researchers involved in the study (including high school student Ria Chhabra, who was inspired to initiate the study after speaking with her parents about the benefits of organic food) nourished growing fruit flies with produce–bananas, potatoes, raisins, and soy beans bought from a grocery store. Some of the flies received conventional produce, and others ate organic versions.

Ultimately, the researchers found that none of the flies lived that long–as they note in the study, “Drosophila cultured on produce extract diets were generally shorter lived than flies raised on regular lab food, presumably due to limited nutritional balance in diets prepared from a single produce source.” Within the confines of the study, however, the flies who ate on the organic foods fared best (though the flies that gorged themselves on just organic raisins fared worse so, you know, be careful). The flies fed with organic produce also had a longer egg production peak than their counterparts.

At this point, you might be thinking that the study is a major rebuke to another study from 2012 that found organic food to be no more healthy than conventionally grown food. But that study actually looked at humans, not fruit flies. Another problem: The more recent study provides no indications as to why the fruit flies lived longer and more fertile lives. So take any pro-organic conclusions with a grain of natural sea salt.

Read the Fast Company article.

Follow SMUResearch.com on Twitter.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

The Mother Nature Network covered research carried out in the fruit fly lab of SMU biologist Johannes H. Bauer by Plano, Texas, high school student Ria Chhabra in its March 27, 2013, article “Organic food is good for flies, study finds.”

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Johannes Bauer in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News and Communications at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links

• PLOS One: “Organically grown food provides health benefits to Drosophila melanogaster”
• Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Basis of Disease: “Development of diet-induced insulin resistance in adult Drosophila melanogaster”
• Johannes H. Bauer
• Bauer Lab at SMU
• SMU Department of Biological Sciences
• Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

More SMU Research news

Fruit flies fed organic diets are healthier than flies fed nonorganic diets, study finds

Center for Creative Leadership to study innovative learning method of SMU Lyle School of Engineering

Parenting program tackles child abuse and neglect among formerly homeless families

Bauer, an assistant professor in SMU’s Department of Biological Sciences, mentored Chhabra in her research to examine whether there would be health differences to fruit flies fed an organic diet or a nonorganic diet. Chhabra’s study found that flies fed an organic diet fared better on important health tests, particularly fertility and longevity.

Read the Mother Nature Network article.

EXCERPT:

By Russell McLendon
Mother Nature Network
Fruit flies live longer and lay more eggs when they eat organic food, according to a study published by university researchers and an ambitious Texas teenager.

After listening to her parents debate the benefits of buying organic food, Ria Chhabra decided to take matters into her own hands. The Texas high-school student — along with biology researchers from Southern Methodist University — began studying how an organic diet affects the health of fruit flies, hoping to shed light on potential benefits for people.

Fruit flies and humans have lots of obvious physiological differences, but the insects are still common test subjects for studying human health, since about 77 percent of known human disease genes have a relevant match in the fruit-fly genome. And based on Chhabra’s research, both species may have a lot to gain by eating more organic food.

“To our surprise, in the majority of our tests of flies on organic foods, the flies fed organic diets did much better on our health tests than the flies fed conventional food,” says SMU biologist Johannes Bauer, who served as Chhabra’s mentor, in a press release. “Longevity and fertility are the two most important aspects of fly life. On both of these tests, flies fed organic diets performed much better than flies fed conventional diets. They lived longer, had higher fertility, and had a much higher lifetime reproductive output.”

That’s a promising result, but as Chhabra points out, it’s still unclear why exactly the organic-fed flies turned out healthier.

“We don’t know why the flies on the organic diet did better,” says Chhabra, a student at Clark High School in Plano, Texas. “That will require further research. But this is a start toward understanding potential health benefits.”

Read the Mother Nature Network article.

Follow SMUResearch.com on Twitter.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.