Home

On:

In the future, can we get DNA tests as children to find out what types of diets to eat and what kinds of medicine to take? If only it was that easy. A new study suggests that, for most common diseases, genes alone only tell part of the story–and the environment tells the rest of it, because it interacts with DNA in ways that are difficult to predict. Geneticist Barak Cohen says, "Having a particular genetic variant may not have much of an effect but combined with a person’s environment, it may have a huge effect."
read more

On:

Many people think we need to transform our politics here in the US. If you want to know what political side someone you’re talking to is REALLY on, look into their eyes. People normally glance in the direction that another person is looking because they’re curious to find out what caught that person’s attention. A new study shows that liberals respond much more strongly to these cues than conservatives do.
read more

On:

You’ve heard of black people "passing for white," but times have changed: Now many mixed-race people with a choice of which way to go are identifying themselves as black. But before they do this, maybe they should think twice: Drug use is usually associated with blacks and latinos, but nearly one in five whites could carry a genetic variant that substantially increases their odds of being susceptible to severe cocaine abuse.
read more

On:

Our minds may be modern but our genes are prehistoric, which is the reason we have so much trouble losing weight! In addition to fast food, desk jobs, and inertia, there is one more thing to blame for unwanted pounds-our genome, which has apparently not caught up with the fact that we no longer live in the Stone Age: A gene known as CRTC3 decreases energy expenditure by fat cells.
read more