§ Dr. Strossasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether any official research is being carried out on the relationship between nutrition and behaviour and the factors that determine food habits; and whether he will enlarge on that part of the statement in the 1960 annual report of the officially supported Chester Beatty Research Institute which speaks of protection against carcinogenesis by nutritional means.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethNo Government-supported research is at present being168W undertaken on the relationship between nutrition and behaviour, but data on food consumption and expenditure by different groups of the population is recorded in the National Food Survey, and changes in food habits can be deduced from this.
Work at the Chester Beatty Research Institute has shown that the incidence of certain types of cancer in mice can be reduced by restricting the number of calories in the diet and that the experimental induction of cancer of the liver in rats can to a certain extent be prevented by supplementing the diet with protein and the vitamin riboflavin. As a result of these leads, experiments are now in progress to determine the degree of protection afforded by a wide variety of dietary modifications against cancer-producing agents.
§ Dr. Strossasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what Government or officially supported research is at present being conducted on cell division and its inhibition with special reference to inhibiting the growth of cancer formations; and where it is carried out.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethStudies of cell division in plant, animal and human material, and of the inhibiting effects of many types of chemical agent form an important part of the work of the Chester Beatty Research Institute, which receives considerable financial support from the Medical Research Council. These studies have led to the development of a number of drugs with useful, if limited, application in the treatment of special types of cancer. Work on cell division is also being undertaken in many university departments of zoology, particularly in London and Edinburgh.