Flies on Meth Burn through Sugar: Effect may explain why addicts often have a sweet tooth

Upon flipping through the Science News magazine, I stopped at the “Genes & Cells” section of the magazine.  This article is one of the articles in that section and I found it pretty interesting.  In the past, I have watched videos on the internet about the effects of animals on drugs and I think of it as a joke until I read this article.  This article is a summary of the study in PLoS ONE on April 20, 2011.  This study explains and describes the many damaging effects of methamphetamine on the cells and genes when tested on fruit flies.

Muscle degradation, bad sperm production, accelerating cells aging and change in sugar metabolism are some of the effects meth has on both the flies and humans discussed in the article.  The article focus on the alteration on the sugar metabolism in the cells affected with meth.  According to the study, the cells when on meth have the same effect of cells that are not getting enough oxygen.  When cells don’t have enough oxygen such as during exercise, the cells will break down sugar molecules stored inside the body.  However, cells that are on meth still display the same conditions although, they have plenty of oxygen.  The cause is unclear but the researchers deduced that meth turn on genes that cause the cells to break down sugar when the oxygen is still enough.  This depleted sugar supplies in the cells will cause the addicts to have a great desire for sugar.  In the experiment, the flies with sugar survive longer than the flies without sugar.

This study is connected to some of the topics that we have been learning in biology.  The topic about cells energetics and genetics are involved.  Anaerobic fermentation is when the cells break down sugar in the absence of oxygen and meth creates the same effect on the cells even though there is plenty of oxygen.  Genetics is also related to the study.  Epigenetics is the study of the turning on and off of the gene caused by the environment.  In the study, meth may have an effect on how the genes are turned on to create the conditions of sugar metabolism.


Citation

- Strain, Daniel. "Flies on meth burn through sugar." ScienceNews MAGAZINE OF THE SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIS. 21 May 2011: 14. Print.