genetic

The breakthrough study findings might pave way for the treatment and even prevention of the world's number one killer that claims more than 90,000 lives a year in the UK.

Dr Robert Roberts, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Canada, said in a press release: “This is a landmark result because we have identified so many genes and most operate using completely unknown mechanisms to us right now.

“Now our job is to understand how these genes work, develop a new group of drugs to target them and identify people who will benefit most.”

Study details

The study conducted by European researchers states that mother's smoking habits do not induce the same habit in their sons, and similarly daughters do not imbibe it from their fathers.

In homes where both parents are present, kids imitate smoking habits of their parents, particularly the same gender. The exception appears to be in single parent homes.

Study particulars
The findings are based on the information compiled from the British Household Panel Survey 1994-2002.

Researchers, who specifically looked at the effects of paternal diet in their study, have discovered that a father's lifestyle can be passed down to next generation because it "reprogrammes" his genes.

The novel mice study, carried out by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin, shows that paternal diet influences lipid metabolising genes of his children.