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Genomic solutions for really big computational problems
Image by Jeezny via Flickr Pity the poor brain. What a job it has! Did you know that just to reach into a refrigerator and grab a glass of milk, involves at least 50 or so key muscles in the hand,...
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Movie star SIRT1 makes for a great body but an old brain
Image by Smeerch via Flickr As far as science movies go, the new movie, “To Age or Not To Age” seems like a lot of fun. The interview with Dr. Leonard Guarente suggests that the sirtuin genes play a...
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Some 40 million-year-old ancestors have all the luck
One day, each of us may have the dubious pleasure of browsing our genomes. What will we find? Risk for this? Risk for that? Protection for this? and that? Fast twitching muscles & wet ear...
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Talk about nothing
Yogic wisdom from kids? Maybe. Check out the upcoming lecture series at the Rubin Museum of Art: “Talk about Nothing” (literally, discussions on what “nothing” means) given by, among many others,...
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My white matter needs epigenetic change encoded by the genome
Image by Myelin Repair Foundation via Flickr from Ye et al., 2009: HDAC1/2 genes encode proteins that modify the epigenome (make it less accessible for gene expression). When HDAC1/2 functions around...
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I’m bummed, can someone please methylate lysine 9 of my histone H3 protein?
Can you imagine uttering that phrase in the future? Yep. “… transgenic mice with increased Setdb1 expression in adult forebrain neurons show antidepressant-like phenotypes in behavioral paradigms for...
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Is the genome as a blueprint for building your mind?
Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr Nope … “On mathematical grounds, it is difficult to understand how 10-to-the-14th synaptic connections in the human brain could be controlled by a genome...
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My father’s genes unfold within me …
Have you ever suddenly realized, “OMG, I’m just like my dad (or mom)!” Oh, the horror .. the horror. Here’s John Updike from A Month of Sundays: Also my father, who in space-time occupied a stark...
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rs2237717 & rs1130233
Are you good at reading faces? You can test yourself (here, here, here) or just get off the interwebz and go talk to a real person. The MET and the AKT genes encode proteins that are involved in...
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rs806377 and rs806380
Learning to read emotions and faces is important for our well-being. For some of us, the act of gazing into another person’s eyes is innately rewarding … especially if they are smiling. New mothers...
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