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Tim Spector

Tim Spector

Tim Spector is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at Kings College, London & Director of the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. Professor Spector graduated from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, London. After working in General Medicine, he completed a MSc in Epidemiology, and his MD thesis at the University of London.

He founded the UK Twins Registry of 11,000 twins in 1993, which is one of the largest collections of genotype and phenotype information on twins worldwide. Its breadth of research has expanded to cover a wide range of common complex traits many of which were previously thought to be mainly due to ageing and environment. He has published over 700 research articles on common diseases and is ranked in the top 1% of world scientists.

He has written several original articles on the heritability of a wide range of diseases and traits including back pain, acne, inflammation, obesity, memory, musical ability and sexuality. He has published widely on obesity, food and nutrition. He also is interested in new areas of biology such as epigenetics and recently our gut microbiome and is director of the British Gut project

He has written several books, He is also author of - The Diet Myth: The real science behind what we eat by W&N 2015 and Identically different: Why you can change your genes, by W&N in 2012 and Your Genes Unzipped in 2003.

Why frequent dieting makes you put on weight – and what to do about it

Nov 26, 2016 03:00 am UTC| Health

People who regularly go on diets tend to lose weight initially but bounce back and even gain weight after stopping the regime. This phenomenon dubbed yo-yo dieting is associated with changes in metabolism and is one...

Eat your fibre or face the flesh-eating microbe cannibals

Nov 22, 2016 13:27 pm UTC| Health

Eat your bran even if it tastes horrible its good for you! Many of us remember this advice from decades ago. While fibre has been a good cure as a bulking agent for exciting disorders like constipation, it has a dull...

If there was a Nobel silver medal, I'd award it to Jeffrey Gordon and our gut microbes

Oct 05, 2016 12:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

A hot tip for this years Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was Jeffrey Gordon. (In case you missed it, the prize went to Yoshinori Ohsumi.) Over the past 15 years, Gordon has progressed an obscure study of boring gut...

Keen to be healthier in old age? Tend your inner garden

Jan 29, 2016 15:08 pm UTC| Health

The worlds oldest man, Yasutaro Koide recently died at the age of 112. Commentators as usual, focused on his reported secret to longevity: not smoking, drinking or overdoing it. No surprises there. But speculation on the...

GI diets don't work – gut bacteria and dark chocolate are a better bet for losing weight

Jan 11, 2016 14:50 pm UTC| Health

The GI (glycaemic index) rating score as well as its cousin the glycaemic load have been the mainstay of most of the diet regimens of the last 30 years. Famous best-selling diet books such as the G-Plan Diet, The South...

The sun goes down on Vitamin D: why I changed my mind about a celebrated supplement

Jan 11, 2016 14:50 pm UTC| Health

Everyone loves D, the sunshine vitamin. Doctors, patients and the media have been enamoured with vitamin D supplements for decades. As well as their clear benefit in curing severe vitamin D deficiencies, endless headlines...

Festive heartburn cures: why over-the-counter drugs may be hurting your gut

Dec 31, 2015 10:27 am UTC| Health

At the time of Xmas parties many of us may be waking up with regrets, sore heads, fragile stomachs and some heartburn (acid reflux) which in a year can affect over 40% of us and one in five weekly. In the past, we may...

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Economy

Why China’s economy has hit a wall

Chinas annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing came to a close on March 11. They were conducted under great pressure: a weak economy and high expectations from both the domestic public and international observers as to...

Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed

There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russias gross...

Mentorship is key to improving social and economic outcomes for Black youth

Black youth in Canada experience poorer educational achievement than other children and youth, which leads to subsequent poor economic outcomes. A series of problems and barriers contribute to poor educational outcomes....

There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well

The federal and Northern Territory governments have just made a historic funding announcement of about A$1 billion for schools in the territory. This includes an extra $737.7 million from the federal government and an...

Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents

Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the...

Politics

China's Commerce Minister to Advocate EV Sector in Europe Amid Subsidy, Tariff Probe

Chinas Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set to visit Europe in April to address concerns and advocate for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry amid a European Commission investigation into alleged unfair...

Chinese Hackers Target US Officials and Dissidents in Cyber Espionage Scheme

Seven nationals of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) face charges for a long-term cyber espionage campaign targeting political dissidents and officials in the US, marking a significant escalation in international cyber...

SpaceX Builds Spy Satellites for US; Russia Warns of Military Response

Russia has issued a stark warning to the United States, stating that the use of SpaceXs satellites for espionage could render them targets for military action. This follows revelations that SpaceX is constructing a spy...

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

Disinformation caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it. Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 a...

Science

How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight

Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The invention of the airplane allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared...

The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve

The progress of science in the last 400 years is mind-blowing. Who would have thought wed be able to trace the history of our universe to its origins 14 billion years ago? Science has increased the length and the quality...

What is minoxidil, the anti-balding hair growth treatment? Here’s what the science says

Hair loss (also known as alopecia) often affects the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body. Its very common and usually nothing to worry about; about half of Australian men show signs of visible baldness at age 50 and...

Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born

When we look out to the stars, it is typically not a yearning for the distant depths of outer space that drives us. When we are looking out there, we are truly looking back at ourselves. We try to understand our place in...

Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history

Total solar eclipses have fascinated and terrified people for centuries. Today, we know that total solar eclipses like the upcoming eclipse on April 8 are caused by a cosmic coincidence when the moon comes between the...

Technology

Bitcoin Depot CEO Foresees Crypto ATM Revival with Impending Bitcoin FOMO Wave

As the crypto industry anticipates a surge in Bitcoin interest post-halving, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz predicts a significant resurgence in crypto ATM installations worldwide. This optimism follows a decline in 2023...

Ford Motor Slashes F-150 Lightning Workers as EV Sales Slow

Ford Motor Company is trimming down its workforce at its Michigan production plant for F-150 Lightning pick-up trucks. The automaker cited slow EV sales as the reason for the move. Ford Motor will slash two-thirds or...

Wendy’s Signs Deal With PAR Punchh AI Platform to Advance Customer Loyalty Program

The Wendys Company selected the PAR Punchh customer loyalty platform to upgrade its loyalty program for better customer engagement. The fast-food chain will apply next-generation technology to offer the best solutions to...

Tesla Cybertruck Gears Up for Thailand, Steals Spotlight in Mexico

As Teslas Cybertruck prepares to debut in Thailand, excitement builds following its attention-grabbing tour in Mexico. Recent discussions hint at a potential Tesla gigafactory in Thailand, and the all-electric trucks...
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