Slanted Science

The wonderful artwork above is used courtesy of Eric Spitler. You should check him out at EricSpitler.com

Scientists have used that most faithful of laboratory animals – the fruit fly – to identify a number of genes involved in behaviors associated with drinking.

With all sincerity, we would like to offer ourselves up as volunteers to take this work into humans. We’re selfless like that.

The work was conducted at North Carolina State and Boston Universities, under the guidance of Professor Robert Anholt. Now, how did we guess that Boston might be involved in all this?

The work is published in the journal Genetics. Let’s see what their press release on the paper, collated by the wonderful eurekalert.org, has to say on the methodology:

Anholt and colleagues first measured the amount of time it took for the fruit flies to lose postural control after exposure to alcohol.

What a wonderfully prosaic description! We will be using that the next time we are refused service in a bar for having had one too many: “Excuse me, we are not drunk, merely beginning to lose postural control. Now pour that straight-up Southern Comfort, then help us up from the floor.”

While the fruit flies were losing postural control (non-scientific translation: “getting wasted“), the crafty boffins measured changes occurring in expression of the flies’ genes. Having found several genes whose levels were most signifcantly altered during the drinking process, they looked at whether these genes also played a role in humans.

The answer: yes. The group found that a specific type of mutation, called a single nucleotide polymorphism, in the human version of a gene called Malic Enzyme 1 was significantly associated with higher alcohol intake.

The scientists specifically used cocktail intake as their measure. They did not disclose whether the mutation led to people drinking sophisticated Manhattans, or all-out, hang-on-this-ride-may-get-kinda-bumpy Alabama Slammers.

Great work, guys. Tonight, we shall raise a glass in your honor. Several times.

Don’t Hold Your Breath, But This May Lead To: with the identification of a potential target gene/protein, it may be feasible to develop a drug to lessen alcoholics’ need for a booze fix. The work may also provide support for the theory that alcoholism is at least partly inherited.

If you’re in the mood for some perfect beer-drinking glassware, here’s a lovely piece from Amazon.

Cheers!