International
Gene mutation can slow child growth, puberty: study
AFP
Scientists have identified a gene mutation that affects the brain’s ability to sense a body’s nutrition and can impact childhood growth and delay puberty, a study said Wednesday.
Average human height has increased over time with greater access to food.
By identifying the gene responsible for the brain receptor known as MC3R, scientists may have uncovered one of the reasons behind this trend.
Analysing data from 500,000 participants in the UK Biobank biomedical research database, they identified a few thousand carrying rare natural mutations in the gene responsible for MC3R receptors.
The study published in Nature shows those individuals were on average shorter and hit puberty later than people without the mutation.
“MC3R deficiency is… associated with reduced childhood growth, adult height and lean mass” the study concludes, noting that the effects are greater the more severe the dysfunction.
Previous studies had shown that mutation in genes responsible for brain receptors known as MC4R lead to obesity in humans.
While studies in mice had suggested MC3R played a role in development, it was not clear how this worked in humans.
“Analysis of the MC3R gene should become part of the routine genetic analysis of patients with delayed puberty, short stature,” the study says.
It concludes that medically stimulating MC3R receptors might be a potential treatment for delayed puberty, short stature and a condition associated with chronic illness that affects muscle mass known as sarcopenia.
International
Migrants in Ciudad Juárez brave subzero temperatures with donations of warm clothing
Several jackets, gloves, hats, and scarves are helping migrants on the streets of Ciudad Juárez, a border town in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, to withstand the subzero temperatures recorded in the past days in northern Mexico.
“We wear three or four jackets to be able to walk like this, face masks, ear covers, we put on three or four sweatshirts,” said Jorge Peñalver, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, on Friday to AFP.
Northern Mexico is suffering from its second winter storm. Thermometers dropped to -3°C in Ciudad Juárez on Wednesday, where migrants are waiting to enter the United States legally.
In addition to the cold, there is the “uncertainty” ahead of the inauguration of the next U.S. president, Donald Trump, who has promised to use the military to carry out a mass deportation of migrants, added Carlos Mayorga, a pastor and volunteer with the group Ángeles Mensajeros. The organization provides clothing, food, and coffee to migrants, mostly from Venezuela and Central America, where they are “not used to” freezing temperatures.
“Thank God the people here in Ciudad Juárez see us working and give us coats,” added Peñalver, who cleans windshields and car windows.
The National Weather Service predicted that subzero temperatures will continue in northern Mexico, reaching -15°C in mountainous areas of Chihuahua and Durango states.
International
Álvaro Uribe calls for international military intervention to oust Maduro
Former President Álvaro Uribe, one of the most popular politicians in Colombia, called on Saturday for an international military intervention in Venezuela “to oust” Nicolás Maduro from power following his controversial swearing-in for a third consecutive term on Friday.
“Let that fraud know that what we advocate for is an international military intervention with the Venezuelan army to remove the dictatorship,” said the right-wing former president from the Colombian side of the border in Cúcuta.
In front of dozens of people on the streets of the city, Uribe led his announced “protest for the freedom of Colombia and Venezuela,” in support of Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado, the leaders of the Venezuelan opposition.
“We are calling for an international intervention, preferably endorsed by the United Nations, to remove those tyrants from power and immediately call for free elections,” he insisted amid applause.
International
Venezuela’s Interior Ministry confirms arrest of María Corina Machado’s driver
Venezuela’s Ministry of the Interior confirmed on Monday the arrest of the motorcyclist who transported María Corina Machado after the opposition protest last Thursday, and stated that he will be charged with the alleged crimes of conspiracy and simulating a criminal act.
As Machado had reported, the motorcyclist, identified as Roalmi Alberto Cabeza, was arrested after being shot in the leg, a claim that the Ministry denies, asserting that he was apprehended at a well-known hotel in Caracas “without injuries,” and that the charge of simulation will be pressed against him.
In a statement shared on Instagram, the Ministry stated that, in response to Machado’s “serious accusations,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office and state security agencies conducted “a thorough investigation to clarify the events.”
The Ministry explained in the statement that Cabeza stated, at the time of his arrest at the hotel, that he was “under protection by Machado’s order.”
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