Imagine if you will a holiday on which it is customary to bring flowers, chocolates, and the like to another person for whom one has romantic feelings. I know, I know, a preposterous proposition, but sometimes an outlandish thought experiment can be helpful. And so on this holiday, you bring a gift of flowers and observe how happy they make your crush. The next year, you are late to the florist and cannot get flowers so you bring chocolate instead and notice an equally happy reaction. The following year you are extra prepared–flowers ordered in advance and just-in-case chocolates; you give both and notice your crush is even happier, but not really twice as happy as with either gift alone. Now you are curious, and so the next year you supplement flowers and chocolate with provocative loungewear only to discover this makes your crush less happy than if they had gotten no gift at all. O dear! What is going on?
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genetics
Science Corner: A Flock of Sea Scrolls
Before they were one of the most famous archaeological discoveries (and narratives), the Dead Sea Scrolls were so many unsuspecting sheep, goats, and cows. Sure, there are some important steps in between, but for today’s purposes, the animals are key. Since the parchments are made of animal hide, they have DNA. And DNA can survive for the ~2,000 years since the scrolls were written, allowing researchers to extract DNA from tiny samples or crumbs to learn about the animals who gave their hide for the parchment. You can read a news summary here, or the full paper here.
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Science Corner: The Skinny on Genes
Biology is not fully reducible to genetics, and behavior is not fully reducible to biology. I’ve found myself using that adage more often in conversation, so I thought perhaps it would be helpful to mention and unpack here. As far as I know, that particular phrasing is mine, but the sentiment I believe is fairly representative of what biologists think. While there may be a popular expectation finding genes for every personality trait, the reality is that genes can only have so much influence. That should be apparent even from the raw numbers. We have roughly 25,000 genes and 100 trillion neural connections; so few genes cannot possibly fully specify how our brains are wired, especially considering everything else those genes also have to do. Even when genes get a label like the “warrior gene” the most we can about it is that it is associated with a higher tendency toward certain behaviors, rather than being fully deterministic.
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Science Corner: I-9, Two Forms of Identification, and Your Genome
“Of course he became a supervillain; his name was Victor von Doom.” Such sentiments are common about (and among) fictional characters; naturally Remus Lupin is the one who got bit by a werewolf, not James Potter, and of all people only Otto Octavius would wind up with four extra limbs. In real life, our future choices and the events that transpire around us aren’t so easily foretold–but that doesn’t always stop us from trying. We believe we could use our time and money so much more efficiently if we only knew from day one which people will be loyal friends, productive employees, or healthy patients. And so we search for the factors and metrics that might give us, if not a complete view of the future, at least a glimpse.
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Science Corner: Designer Genes
It’s been a busy week in the world of applied biology. Genetically modified mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands in an effort to disrupt Zika virus transmission; Florida is considering a similar intervention now that infections have occurred there. While the FDA approved the use of such mosquitoes, Congress has prevented it from even considering any procedures that intentionally modify human embryos in an inheritable way. Meanwhile, the NIH is preparing to fund research involving human-animal hybrids (think pigs with organs suitable for human transplant, not centaurs or werewolves). And that’s not to mention the ongoing conversation about the use of genetically modified organisms for food which factors into the political landscape this election season.
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