oops! it happened again. =/
Deletion of Any Single Gene Provokes Mutations Elsewhere in the Genome – “Johns Hopkins researchers report that the deletion of any single gene in yeast cells puts pressure on the organism’s genome to compensate, leading to a mutation in another gene…. ‘The deletion of any given gene usually results in one, or sometimes two, specific genes being “warped” in response….’”
Self-heal like Wolverine? Gene discovery might hold clues – “In a discovery by a Harvard researcher, a reactivated gene found in embryos helps mice regrow clipped parts of their ears and toes. Could the ‘fountain of youth’ gene hold promise for humans too?” – i want one! – h/t mike anissimov!
Gene Variants Up CKD [chronic kidney disease] Risk in Blacks – “A high-risk genetic variant conferred a significantly increased risk of progressive kidney disease in African Americans, at least partly explaining a racial disparity in end-stage renal disease (ESRD), investigators reported here. Analysis of black and white patients in another trial — half with diabetes — showed kidney function declined almost three times as fast in blacks with the high-risk APOL1 profile as compared with whites….”
Genetic clue to high heart risk of black Americans – “The gene that produces the protein [PC-TP which activates a clotting factor called PAR4] is four times more active in the platelets of black Americans than it is in white Americans.” – h/t hbd bibliography!
Europeans and South Asians share by descent SLC24A5 light skin allele – “‘We date the coalescence of the light skin associated allele at 22–28 KYA. Both our sequence and genome-wide genotype data confirm that this gene has been a target for positive selection among Europeans. However, the latter also shows additional evidence of selection in populations of the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan and North India but not in South India.’” – @dienekes’.
The ancestors with no descendants – “On the eve of the last ice age, Siberia was home to a people who were related to modern Europeans and Amerindians but not to modern native Siberians. So concludes an analysis of DNA from the remains of a boy who lived 24,000 years ago at Mal’ta near Lake Baikal, Siberia…. [T]he Mal’ta people probably looked very much like native Indians with a more European skull shape, perhaps like the Ainu of northern Japan or the Kennewick humans of North America.”
Political colour is half genetic – “New study provides definitive evidence that heritability plays a significant role in the formation of political ideology, regardless of how ideology is measured, the time period or population sampled.” – @ScienceNordic.com – the photo caption is pretty funny/telling: “Imagine if scientists could identify the ‘liberal’ genes and genetically modify babies so that they all voted liberal when they grow up? Brave new world?” (and the first comment is priceless!) – h/t ray sawhill!
It’s not just conservatives that support discrimination against their ideological foes – “‘Discrimination by liberals has received scant attention in the literature, despite this being a prevalent concern in conservative rhetoric. By only examining conservative biases, social scientists fail to fully explore political intolerance in America. This research helps fill that gap….’ When opposing groups were seen as violating core values, liberals were just as likely to support discrimination against same-sex marriage opponents, religious fundamentalists, Tea Party protestors, and prolife people as were conservatives against feminists, atheists, leftist protestors, and prochoice people.”
Politics Has an Odor – “[C]onservatives are significantly more likely than liberals to detect [bitter tasting] PTC [phenylthiocarbamide].” – h/t jayman!
Study: Your brain sees things you don’t – “Our brains perceive objects in everyday life of which we may never be aware, a study finds, challenging currently accepted models about how the brain processes visual information.”
New evidence on the biological basis of highly impulsive and aggressive behaviors – “Physical and chemical changes in the brain during development can potentially play a role in some delinquent and deviant behaviors.”
Root of maths genius sought – “Entrepreneur’s ‘Project Einstein’ taps 400 top academics for their DNA.”
Has a 15-year-old explained the Flynn Effect? – on elijah amstrong and michael woodley’s newly published paper! – from steve sailer.
Is young Woodley down for the count? – never! (^_^) – from dr. james thompson.
Religions of the American Nations – “[T]hese differences [regional cultural and political divisions in america] stem from the *genetic* differences in the descendants of these initial settlers (suffused with the genes of subsequent immigrants, particularly in the old North).” – from jayman.
In Hookups, Inequality Still Reigns – “[A] study of 24,000 students at 21 colleges over five years found that about 40 percent of women had an orgasm during their last hookup involving intercourse, while 80 percent of men did.” – h/t john durant!
The Co-Villains Behind Obesity’s Rise – “Not everyone, however, has the same gut bacteria. And, interestingly, the composition of this bacteria correlates with obesity…. [T]he bacteria study found that the ‘obese gut bacteria’ had an impact only when the mice were fed diets heavy in saturated fats.” – h/t jayman!
Rich Chinese Couples Turning To American Surrogates For Easier Immigration And ‘Designer Babies’ – “Another factor that has some Chinese couples choosing American surrogates is a desire for ‘designer babies.’ While most couples still use their own eggs and sperm, making the child biologically theirs, Reuters reports that more and more people are open to egg donation, to get what some clients believe are smarter and better-looking children. ‘Lots of clients that are Chinese do use tall, blond donors,’ Jennifer Garcia, who works at Extraordinary Conception in California, where 40 percent of clients are Chinese, said in the report.” – h/t mark krikorian!
CRISPR gene therapy: Scientists call for more public debate around breakthrough technique – “‘I’m sure there will be some concern about the possibility that the technology could be used for “enhancement” rather than repair, veering from medicine towards eugenics,’ [professor wells] warned.” – oh noes! not “enhancement”! *swoon!* h/t anatoly!
Should state education be abolished? – “New York City adopting Finland’s education system is not going to make New York like Finland…. In the game of life the dice are loaded and trying to make teachers responsible for making life fair is deluded and unfair to them….” – from ed west.
Shaker Heights – from greg cochran.
John Derbyshire’s Modest Proposal On Politics and Intelligence – “And the too-dumb-to-vote segment is only a part of the problem we conservatives have with universal suffrage. Here’s another part: too *smart* to vote…. At the very highest levels of intelligence, the correlation between IQ and sensible political opinions may actually be *inverse*: the more brilliant you are, the dumber your politics. Albert Einstein thought well of Stalin; Hitlerism got its first mass following in the highly-selective German universities.”
Amid austerity and debt, Denmark remains happiest nation – “The second pillar of happiness is a high level of trust between people, even for a stranger on the street….” – crazy danes! (~_^)
Introducing the Mongol Project – “‘I will now tell you all about the Tartars and how they acquired their empire and spread throughout the world.’” – excellent! – from t.greer.
Early uses of chili peppers in Mexico – “Chili peppers may have been used to make spicy beverages thousands of years ago in Mexico….”
Case of Insect Interruptus Yields a Rare Fossil Find – “[T]he oldest fossil of two insects copulating.” – 165 million years old!
This Is How Much Money You’ll Make Based on Your Personality – d*mn. =/
bonus: Another Word for “Holocaust” – “[O]ne would have to be smoking banana peels dipped in formaldehyde and sprinkled with PCP to assert that both events [the holocaust and the holodomor] receive a similar amount of attention in Western media and academia.” – from jim goad. of course.
bonus bonus: Swedish cinemas launch feminist movie rating – hahahahahaha!!! heh. wait. (*hbd chick wipes tears from eyes*) heh. – “To get an ‘A’ rating, a movie must pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man….” – hahahahahaha!! – “The entire ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, all ‘Star Wars’ movies, ‘The Social Network,’ ‘Pulp Fiction’ and all but one of the ‘Harry Potter’ movies fail this test,” – so, except for The Social Network, all of my faves. this is going to be a REALLY handy movie rating system. whatever movies they FAIL, i will go see! (^_^)
bonus bonus bonus: Strange Doings on the Sun – “Sunspots, Which Can Harm Electronics on Earth, Are Half the Number Expected” – ruh roh.
bonus bonus bonus bonus: Large magma reservoir gets bigger – ruh roh.
bonus bonus bonus bonus bonus: This amazing fruit fly evolved to have pictures of ants on its wings – srsly! – h/t jayman!
(note: comments do not require an email. rupee – first dog to climb mt. everest. woof!)
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