For The Union-Tribune Soy vey! Soybean oil is the most widely consumed cooking oil (more than 50%) in the United States and a ubiquitous ingredient in processed foods. A new study by researchers at the University of California Riverside now suggests it contributes to obesity, at least in mice. Resea rchers fed mice a high-fat diet rich in soybean oil. Most gained significant weight. The exception was a group of genetically engineered mice. These mice produced a slightly different form of a liver protein that influences hundreds of genes linked to fat metabolism. This protein also appears to change how the body processes linoleic acid, a major component of soybean oil. “This may be the first step toward understanding why some people gain weight more easily than others on a diet high in soybean oil,” says Sonia Deol, a UC Riverside biomedical scientist. In humans, both versions of the liver protein HNF4α exist, but the alternative form is typically produced only under certain conditions, such as chronic illness or metabolic stress from fasting or alcoholic fatty liver. This variation, along with differences in age, sex, medications and genetics, may help explain why some people are more susceptible than others to the metabolic effects of soybean oil.   (Adobe Stock) Body of knowledge Human beings have three pairs of major salivary glands — parotid, submandibular and sublingual — that feed saliva into the mouth through ducts. The parotid glands are the largest, located in front of and below each ear. The submandibular are located on the floor of the mouth under the jaw and the sublingual are the smallest, found under the tongue. Altogether, these glands produce two to six cups of saliva daily.   Counts 73 — Percentage of Americans surveyed who said they oppose cutting federal jobs and programs focused on mental health services, opioid treatment and suicide prevention programs (This year, layoffs and funding cuts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have ground much of the agency’s work to a halt. The agency has terminated $1.7 billion in block grants for state health departments and cut roughly $350 million in addiction and overdose prevention funding.) Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness   (Adobe Stock) Stories for the waiting room More recent iterations of the mRNA COVID vaccine produce antibodies that persist in the body more than 16 months post-vaccination. “These antibody half-lives (the point at which at least 50% of the antibodies remain detectable) are about three times longer than any of the previous antibody half-lives from the initial two-dose mRNA vaccine,” said study author Mehul Suthar, a professor at Emory University’s School of Medicine.   Doc talk Cryptorchidism — a cryptic way of saying one or both testes has failed to descend   (Adobe Stock) Mania of the week Klazomania — an obsession or propensity to scream   (Adobe Stock) Best medicine First woman: Today I bought a cupcake without sprinkles. Second woman: So? First woman: I’m just saying, diets are hard.   Observation If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?   (Adobe Stock) Medical history This week in 1974, the U.S. Postal Service debuted a postage stamp celebrating Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), the first woman in the country to earn a medical degree, in 1849. Though her subsequent efforts to serve as a practicing physician were often stymied, both in the U.S. and in Europe, she became a vocal pioneer in promoting education for women in medicine.   Ig Nobel apprised The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that’s hard to take seriously, and even harder to ignore. In 1993, the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine went to James F. Nolan, Thomas J. Stillwell and John P. Sands, all medical men of mercy, for their painstaking study “Acute Management of the Zipper-Entrapped Penis,” published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine.   Med school Q: What is the most common type of gallstone? a) Pigment stones b) Calcium salts c) Calcium bilirubinate d) Cholesterol stones A: d) Gallstones are crystalline substances embedded in a small amount of protein material formed most often in the gallbladder. The most common type of gallstone consists principally of cholesterol.   Last words “I done told you my last request…a bullet-proof vest.” — Final words of James W. Rodgers, convicted of murder, as he stood before a Utah firing squad in 1960   LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute. ...read more read less