Women who fall pregnant while dieting are more likely to have a child that could become obese or diabetic in later life, a study suggests.

Researchers found in a study on sheep that giving ewes less food at the time of conception caused DNA changes in the brains of their young.

The University of Manchester scientists suspect the findings may hold true for humans as well and could explain why twins are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

The study investigated twin pregnancies in sheep as well the pregnancies of ewes that received less food around the time the lamb was conceived.

The researchers then looked at tissues from the brains of the unborn lambs to see if there were changes in the structure of the DNA.

Study leader Anne White said: 'We found that unborn twin lambs had changes in the structure of DNA in the region of the brain that regulates food intake and glucose that resulted in an increased chance of diabetes in adulthood.

'Our findings provide a reason why twins are more likely to get diabetes but we have also shown that mothers who don't have enough food around the time of conception may have a child who grows up with an increased risk of obesity.'

The researchers believe their findings are relevant to humans as they reveal a non-genetic, or 'epigenetic', way in which the DNA of offspring can be altered.

Professor White added: 'Our study is important because it shows that factors in the brain can be altered by non-hereditary mechanisms and this results in changes in the body, which could make people obese.

'The findings may provide a new understanding of why twins can develop diabetes and also suggests that dieting around the time a baby is conceived may increase the chance of the child becoming obese later in life.'

More and more people are becoming obese and getting diabetes, while rates of twins are steadily increasing as women have babies at older ages and rates of conception using artificial reproductive technologies increase.

Dieting in young women is also very common and can occur in women who may not know they are pregnant.

The team's findings in sheep, if replicated in humans, suggest that obesity and diabetes could be more likely in twins and in children from mothers who aren't eating properly, or dieting, around the time of conception.

Researchers say it could affect the advice giving to women who are planning a family to reduce future health risks for their children.

The study was published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

While motherhood is painted as the crowning glory and privilege of being a woman, it comes with its own inherent problems which can make a new mother feel upset, like a failure and insecure about her abilities and choices. The journey of development of the kid in the womb is by far the most precious feeling that any woman can ever experience, but at times it leaves behind the care taker and her offspring with lifelong diseases.

Diabetes in pregnant women is of two types:
Gestational diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy

Pre-gestational or pre existing diabetes (type 1 or type 2 diabetes) diagnosed before pregnancy.

Diabetes in pregnant women occurs in about 1 in 20 pregnancies. It usually begins between weeks 13 to 28 of pregnancy and goes away with the pregnancy. Hormonal changes and weight gain are part of a healthy pregnancy, but these changes can sometimes take toll on the body.

Gestational diabetes is a condition where your blood sugar levels are high. This occurs only when you are pregnant. It is one of the most common health problems faced by pregnant women. It usually develops in the middle of the pregnancy, between the 24th and 28th weeks, when hormones interfere with the mother's ability to use insulin" says Dr. Ajay Aggarwal, Consultant Endocrinologist, Fortis Hospital, Shalimarbagh, Delhi.

Whereas, if you have diabetes before you get pregnant, it is called Pre gestational diabetes. The two types of pre gestational diabetes are:

When body requires more energy than usual and the normal amount of glucose from the food intake is not sufficient. To compensate this, the pancreas makes more and more insulin. But if insulin is not produced in the right amount, i.e. or due to malfunction of the pancreas insulin is not produced, the glucose can't get into the cells, and thus stays and keeps accumulating in the blood making your blood glucose level higher than required causing diabetes. Diabetes, if not taken seriously can lead to blindness, chronic heart diseases, stroke, kidney failure and also sometimes to amputations.

Many people are unaware of the fact that diabetes can be dangerous for pregnant woman. Diabetes, if not controlled can affect your baby. It can cause your baby to grow large (macrosomia) and have a higher birth weight (nearly 4 kg). This can make normal delivery (vaginal delivery) difficult. Uncontrolled diabetes can also put your baby at an increased risk for breathing, low blood sugar levels after delivery and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) tells Dr. Aggarwal.

If a mother bearing a child is diabetic or develops diabetes due to hormonal changes, there are chances that the baby can acquire diabetes too. The baby also stands chances to be born with defects!

Diabetes in pregnant women can lead to a number of complications for both mother and the child.

Some of the complications which can affect the mother are:

High blood pressure resulting in fits, in medical terminology Pre-eclampsia

Increase in the amount of amniotic fluid; the fluid around baby in the womb.

Pre mature birth of baby up to almost 37 weeks before the actual due date.

Have to under-go a caesarean birth because of complications

Chances of developing Gestational diabetes in future pregnancies.

Risks of developing type II diabetes in later stages of life.

Possible effects on the baby:

Probability of the baby acquiring low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) for a few days after birth.

A more than higher risk of the baby getting jaundice, which is otherwise common in all newborns.

If the baby is born prematurely, there is a higher chance of his or herfound with the condition of respiratory distress syndrome as the lungs do not get a chance to get developed fully as a result of the high sugar levels during pregnancy.

The child stands a higher chance of being obese in later life.

Also face a clear risk of developing diabetes when the child grows older.

So, the big question is, "How to take care of yourself during pregnancy so that you do not get diagnosed with this type of diabetes, and if you have nonetheless acquired it, how do you make sure that the baby is least effected?"

Though diabetes in pregnant women should be considered a big threat to the baby's health, it is also a fact that there are numerous cases when women with gestational diabetes have delivered healthy babies. So, it is all about taking few precautions during pregnancy. Here are a few things which one should keep in mind and follow:

Follow the diet plan suggested by your dietician very strictly.

Try to be active for at least 2 hours and 30 minutes each week. This will help in keeping your blood glucose level on track.

Use a blood glucose meter to check your blood glucose levels periodically.

It is very important to keep track of your blood sugar level so that you know exactly when it is dropping below the required level and you take the necessary precautions and prescribed medicines.

Dr. Aggarwal "Treatment of choice for Diabetes in Pregnancy is Only Insulin. OHA's are contraindicated. Insulin therapy helps to maintain your blood sugar levels in the normal range. Maintaining your blood sugar levels in the normal range will help your baby have the right weight. It will also prevent preterm labor, miscarriages and help you to have a good pregnancy outcome.

Insulin pumps help you manage diabetes by delivering insulin 24 hours. Pump is more beneficial as it is more accurate, precise and flexible as insulin delivery systems and provides tight blood glucose control therefore preventing both the mother and the baby from complications.

Insulin Pump is superior over Insulin Injections as it:-

Delivers insulin more accurately than injections

Eliminates individual insulin injections ( 12-16 Injections Vs one prick/ every 4th day)

Improves HBA1c

Results in fewer large swings in your blood glucose levels (reduces episodes of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia)

Allows you to be flexible about when and what you eat

Can improve your quality of life

Reduces complications related to diabetes to mother as well as the baby

Better predictability for insulin absorption

Allows you to exercise without having to eat large amounts of carbohydrate

The number of people using this new insulin pump therapy to manage their diabetes is growing rapidly. Today, over 250,000 people around the world are using an insulin pump to get a control on their unpredictable fluctuations of sugar level.

All you would-be moms, do not worry, just be careful. You only need to keep a close check on your blood glucose level and enjoy the phase.

Honey bees are clever than you thought. They "self medicate" when their colony is infected with a harmful fungus, bringing in increased amounts of antifungal plant resins to ward off the pathogen.

"The colony is willing to expend the energy and effort of its worker bees to collect these resins. So, clearly this behaviour has evolved because the benefit to the colony exceeds the cost," Michael Simone Finstrom at North Carolina State University, who led the study, said.

Wild honey bees normally line their hives with propolis, a mixture of plant resins and wax that has antifungal and antibacterial properties. Domesticated honey bees also use propolis, to fill in cracks in their hives.

However, researchers found that, when faced with a fungal threat, bees bring in significantly more propolis 45 percent more, on average. The bees also physically removed infected larvae that had been parasitized by the fungus and were being used to create fungal spores.

Propolis is an effective antifungal agent because they lined some hives with a propolis extract and found that the extract significantly reduced the rate of infection.

And, apparently bees can sometimes distinguish harmful fungi from harmless ones, since colonies did not bring in increased amounts of propolis when infected with harmless fungal species. Instead, the colonies relied on physically removing the spores.

However, the self-medicating behaviour does have limits. Honey bee colonies infected with pathogenic bacteria did not bring in significantly more propolis despite the fact that the propolis also has antibacterial properties.

"There was a slight increase, but it was not statistically significant. That is something we plan to follow up on," Simone Finstrom said in a release.

Tobacco is addictive, causes cancer and is killing nearly 1.2 lakh young Indians. Two major studies were released in the past week. A study in the Lancet, and the World Tobacco Atlas both found that tobacco use is the single biggest cause of cancers in India, resulting in 40 per cent of cancer deaths in Indian men.

Eighty per cent of all oral cancers are tobacco-related, according to the World Tobacco Atlas, released by world lung foundation. The Lancet study highlighted six lakh deaths due to cancer, in 2010.

One fifth of these were due to tobacco use. The study also highlighted how cancer was hitting Indians at a younger age, than their counterparts in the West.

DRD WHO SEARO Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, "The young are taking more to tobacco now. Despite all the attempts that have been made we don't find that that is on the decline now."

There is a regional variance. The North-East has four times higher cancer rates than neighbouring states Bihar and Orissa, possibly because of high tobacco consumption.

Cervical cancer is responsible for 20 per cent of all cancer deaths in women. These can also be caught at an early stage, through regular screening or pap smear tests.

Trying to tell whether someone is lying to you can often prove difficult.

But now with the aid of a computer, the need to look for tell-tale signs could soon be made redundant.

Scientists have developed a new software that focuses solely on the subject's eyes, monitoring the movements of the pupils, which determines if someone is telling you the truth or attempting to pull the wool over your eyes.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo recorded a series conversations in which a number of lies were told.

And having tested their program against a trained human interrogator, they found that the software had a higher success rate.

While the specially-trained examiner correctly identify 65% of false statements, the computer recorded an impressive 82.5% reading.

Assistant professor Ifeoma Nwogu said: 'What we wanted to understand was whether there are signal changes emitted by people when they are lying, and can machines detect them?'

The study centred around conversations in which subjects could chose whether or not to steal a cheque, before later being questioned on their decision.

A wide range of individuals were selected, with varying skin colours, age and height with someone even wearing glasses in an attempt to conceal their lies.

Despite most of those interviewed being caught out, there were a select number who managed to keep their eye movements to a bare minimum, which consequently resulted in the wrong conclusions.

Now scientists plan to carry out additional studies on a larger scale, with a long-term view to developing a system that could work alongside human interrogators.