If you experience any difficulties in visualising the implications of equations like these . . . – could your genetic makeup be sub-optimal? They’re from a new study published in bioRxiv which examines Genetic Associations with Mathematics Tracking and Persistence in Secondary School The research project (from the Department of Psychology and Population Research Center, […]
Tag: genes
Do a person’s genes predict how high they will go in school? — The 3.2% solution
Scholars have wondered whether (and in some cases, assumed that) success in schools comes largely from the good genes a person inherits. A new study of scholars and their genes provides evidence that YES, IT DOES, sort of, a little bit, maybe. The study is powerful — its authors tell us exactly how powerful. The study is “Genome-wide association study […]
Consumer alert: Schizophrenic reportage on schizophrenia
Consumer beware. The past month has supplied these two items: (1) In Scientific American: ” ‘Schizophrenia Gene’ Discovery” (2) In BMJ (the publication formerly called British Medical Journal): ” ‘Schizophrenia’ does not exist”
“The more we learn, the less we understand”
“The more we learn, the less we understand,” says geneticist Steve Jones about genes and genetics, in this Lost Lecture: David Dobbs pursues this theme in the essay “Weighing The Promises Of Big Genomics“, in Buzzfeed: …“Many genes of small effect” became a sort of tepid curse. I myself prefer the stronger, more memorable phrase “Many Assorted […]
Coffee & Copious Co-authorship & Causation & Correlation
Coffee, coffee, coffee, multiple co-authorship, coffee, coffee, coffee, the implied linking of correlation and causation,coffee, coffee, coffee, the genome,coffee, coffee, coffee, big data, coffee, coffee, coffee — this new study has plenty of something for lots of everyones: “Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies six novel loci associated with habitual coffee consumption,” The Coffee and Caffeine Genetics Consortium, […]
Human gelatin genes
“Human gelatine genes”, a phrase that has never managed to intrigue the general public (or anyone else), might now have its day in the sun. The phrase appears in a July 13, 2011 press release from the American Chemical Society. That press release also features today’s Headline of the Day: New method for making human-based […]
Simple: how some genes work together
Simplicity! This simple diagram hints, at a glance, at how very close scientists are to a simple understanding of how genes work together. Titled “Gene Network Interaction Map for colitis-induced colon cancer”, the graph shows a few aspects of the “complex interplay of genetic, immunologic, and environmental influences on the etiology and pathogenesis of inflammatory […]
The Logic of Ménage à Trois
“The Logic of Ménage à Trois,” Magnus Enquist, Risa H. Rosenberg, and Hans Temrin, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, vol. 265, no. 1396, April 7, 1998, pp. 609–13. Enquist and two colleagues were awarded the 2003 Ig Nobel Prize in interdisciplinary research for their 2002 report “Chickens Prefer Beautiful Humans.” The 1998 monograph […]