I just viewed a clip on this on our local TV noon news.

I smelled a rat when the piece ended with the inevitable "but if you can't
breastfeed, all is not lost...  new formulas include DHA and RHA" - and
showed a close-up of a formula can (I think it was Good Start).

Perhaps the formula companies had no involvement with the actual research
and are just capitalizing on the study by sending out press releases that
link the fatty acid in breastmilk, with the additives to formula.

I found the link to the study, but can only access the abstract.  And it is
beyond my research skills to determine the funding behind this research.

Janice Reynolds
Saskatchewan, Canada


Moderation of breastfeeding effects on the IQ by genetic variation in fatty
acid metabolism
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0704292104v1

Abstract

Children's intellectual development is influenced by both genetic
inheritance and environmental experiences. Breastfeeding is one of the
earliest such postnatal experiences. Breastfed children attain higher IQ
scores than children not fed breast milk, presumably because of the fatty
acids uniquely available in breast milk. Here we show that the association
between breastfeeding and IQ is moderated by a genetic variant in FADS2, a
gene involved in the genetic control of fatty acid pathways. We confirmed
this gene-environment interaction in two birth cohorts, and we ruled out
alternative explanations of the finding involving gene-exposure correlation,
intrauterine growth, social class, and maternal cognitive ability, as well
as maternal genotype effects on breastfeeding and breast milk. The finding
shows that environmental exposures can be used to uncover novel candidate
genes in complex phenotypes. It also shows that genes may work via the
environment to shape the IQ, helping to close the nature versus nurture
debate. 

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