Eye on DNA Headlines for 12 August 2007

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted August 12, 2007 in Eye on DNA Headlines

Request for Feedback: Do you like these headline round-ups in one post like this? Or would you prefer that each “headline” be an individual post on its own?

• Blaine at The Genetic Genealogist hosts Gene Genie #13: Into The Future.
• Dr. Paul Decelles pens a beautiful poem about the flower Datura and ties it into genetics.
• DNA tests have been used to identify cows that make A2 milk, which is supposedly healthier, safer, and easier to digest. An established product in Australia and New Zealand, about 100 stores in the American Midwest are selling the milk now. Has anyone tried A2 milk?
• New Scientist reports on simulations showing electrically charged dust that form DNA-like double helixes. They act like reproducing living organisms which can store information within the structure and copy itself. Scientists hypothesize that DNA dust helices could be a form of primitive life found in planetary rings containing fine ice grains. Reminds me of the extraterrestrial DNA stories that circulate once in a while.
• Last month, Katherine Bourzac of Technology Review wrote about mapping complex diseases. Researchers calculated the overlap between 161 different diseases and found that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism may be attributable to one set of common genes.
• Mark Henderson of The Times (UK) looks at the intersection between nature and nurture (curiously assigned to the women’s section of the website) as it relates to popular news item of the week – Friendship May Lie in the Genes.

  Matt Ridley writes in The Agile Gene:

  If personality is created by parents, peers, or society at large, then it is still determined; it is not free.

  In some ways the news that our genes are important contributors to our personality should be reassuring: the imperviousness of individual human nature to outside influences provides a bulwark against brainwashing. At least we are determined by our own intrinsic forces rather than somebody else’s.

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, nature, nurture, matt ridley, a2 milk

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Pingback by btw2.net » Trauma and Culture

2007-08-12 15:55:56

[...] Eye on DNA Headlines for 12 August 2007 by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei, Posted August 12, 2007 includes: [...]

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Comment by Dana Waring

2007-08-13 19:44:09

Hi Hsien- Think the headlines in a single post is great – Dana

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Comment by Hsien

2007-08-13 19:51:11

Thanks, Dana! I guess I won’t annoy you all with short little mini-posts.

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Comment by Sara

2007-08-14 06:15:32

Hsien, I like it this way because it makes it easier in RSS. Thanks for asking!

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Comment by Hsien

2007-08-14 10:29:03

Thanks for answering!

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Comment by AC

2007-08-14 07:45:49

You’ve been tagged: The Bayblab is proud to host the first ever blog carnival on cancer research. A blog carnival is an event where a community of bloggers come together to explore a common subject of interest. Not only does it create a tool to exchange ideas, but it is a good way to exchange links and increase readership. The rules are simple, write a post about any aspect of cancer research, for example where you see your field contributing to cancer treatment in the future, and submit a link to your story to the comment section of this post (http://bayblab.blogspot.com/2007/08/cancer-research-blog-carnival.html) by August 24th. Also, please copy and paste this message to the comment sections of as many relevant blogs as you can. Let the fun begin!

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Comment by Hsien

2007-08-14 10:29:38

Thanks for the invite, AC! I’ll include this info in the next Eye on DNA headlines.

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Pingback by Eye on DNA Headlines for 18 August 2007

2007-08-18 12:21:30

[...] Did you know the 4th International Symposium on Milk Genomics & Human Health will be held in November? International experts in nutrition, genomics, bioinformatics and milk will be convening in Napa, California to discuss “recent research breakthroughs in the areas of evolutionary genetics; bioinformatics, tools and applications; the bovine genome; and genetic diversity in milk and lactation.” I bet they’ll be serving A2 Milk. [...]

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