Identifying the genes that gave dolphins their big brains
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Science Now “Building a Bigger Dolphin Brain“
A Minor Post, Brain size, Cetaceans, Cognitive Ability, Genetics, NeuroscienceAre there genetic markers for ethnicity?
Posted 23 Jun 2012 / 0The Chronicle of Higher Education “The story of Jewish origins, once the province of historians and religion scholars, is now being told by DNA” There are fascinating implications of the research described in this piece for Isreal’s “right of return” policy.
A Minor Post, Gene-Culture Coevolution, Genetics, Human EvolutionLonger telomeres imparted by older fathers may forestall senescence
Posted 20 Jun 2012 / 0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Delayed paternal age of reproduction in humans is associated with longer telomeres across two generations of descendants” Science Daily “Offspring of Older Fathers May Live Longer” What I find fascinating here is the hypothesized adaptive value of this genetic discovery: telomeres may be a molecular mechanism by which Read More
A Minor Post, Articles, Genetics, Human Evolution, SenescenceIs human genetic research being hampered by a failure to share data?
Posted 19 Jun 2012 / 0PLoS One “Mine, Yours, Ours? Sharing Data on Human Genetic Variation” This problem reminds me a little bit of a similar problem in computational biology: often modelers are reluctant to share their code, considering it proprietary information (although note that code represents “methods” and sequences represent “results”). But if gene sequences and model code are Read More
A Minor Post, Data Limitation, GeneticsNow if you could only keep your cytosine methylated you might live forever
Posted 18 Jun 2012 / 0ScienceNow “Aging Is Recorded in Our Genes“
A Minor Post, Articles, Genetics, SenescenceDon’t mistake having a better map for knowing where you are: new technology for sequencing fetal DNA will not lead to serious trait selection
Posted 07 Jun 2012 / 0The Takeaway “New Developments in DNA Sequencing” The problem with this kind of story is that it confuses listeners. While it may be a technological advance to be able to perform complete genetic sequencing of a fetus without risky invasive procedures, this new ability does not necessarily lead to the kind of “baby selection” that Read More
A Minor Post, Genetic Engineering, Genetics, Radio & PodcastsS.E. Gould takes on sloppy use of the selfish gene metaphor
Posted 16 May 2012 / 0Scientific American Blogs “On selfish genes and human behaviour“
A Minor Post, Evolution, Genetics, Natural Selection, WebNPR drops dumb Bell Curve segment
Posted 03 May 2012 / 5This morning, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition featured a segment entitled “Put Away The Bell Curve: Most Of Us Aren’t ‘Average’“. I am generally vigilant about stories which make broad claims about human traits and their genetic and environmental underpinnings, and this particular segment triggered my alarms to scream. Analyzing a new study on “academics writing papers, Read More
Adaptation, Genetics, Radio & PodcastsEpigenetics on Leonard Lopate
Posted 11 Jul 2011 / 0If you read my blog regularly you know that issue of how genes and environment interact to produce traits is a topic near and dear to my heart. Generally the media misrepresent this subject as “nature versus nurture”, and even many scientists fail to properly explain modern scientific understanding in this area. When I learned Read More
Development, Epigenetics, Gene by Environment Interactions, Genetics, Radio & Podcasts“DNA” by James D. Watson
Posted 10 May 2011 / 1I just finished reading James Watson’s 2003 book “DNA”. Throughout the Spring semester I have been working with Mishele Lesser, a graduate MFA student here at Pratt, on an independent study focused on what produces human phenotypes. We both read the book as part of our collaboration. As one of the two people credited with Read More
Books, DNA Barcoding, Gene by Environment Interactions, Genetics, Homo species, Human Evolution, Phylogenetics