Science Daily - "Diabetic Fruit Flies Support Buzz about Dietary Sugar Dangers"
Regularly consuming sucrose—the type of sugar found in many sweetened beverages—increases a person's risk of heart disease. In a study published January 10 in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute used fruit flies to determine exactly how sucrose affects heart function. "Diet-induced heart damage is one of our society's most serious health issues. Our flies now give us a tool to explore the role of high dietary sugar, and the means to identify treatments in the context of the whole body," said Ross Cagan, PhD, professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a senior author of this study. Learn more