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robertogreco + genetics   90

Zero Degrees of Empathy - YouTube
"Professor Simon Baron Cohen presents a new way of understanding what it is that leads individuals down negative paths, and challenges all of us to consider replacing the idea of evil with the idea of empathy-erosion.

Listen to the full audio: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/zero-degrees-of-empathy "

[via: http://sesatschool.org/blog/?p=35 ]
behavior  genetics  parenting  relationships  trust  attachment  caregiving  institutionalization  delinquency  johnbowlby  lowempathy  narcissisticpersonalitydisorder  psychopathicpersonalitydisorder  antisocialpersonalitydisorder  psychopathy  borderlinepersonalitydisorder  personalitydisorders  cruelty  psychology  psychiatry  naturenurture  nurture  nature  2011  simonbaron-cohen  empathy  from delicious
8 weeks ago by robertogreco
E. chromi on Vimeo
"E. chromi is a collaboration between designers and scientists in the new field of synthetic biology. In 2009, seven Cambridge University undergraduates spent the summer genetically engineering bacteria to secrete a variety of coloured pigments, visible to the naked eye. They designed standardised sequences of DNA, known as BioBricks, and inserted them into E. coli bacteria.

Each BioBrick part contains genes selected from existing organisms spanning the living kingdoms, enabling the bacteria to produce a colour: red, yellow, green, blue, brown or violet. By combining these with other BioBricks, bacteria could be programmed to do useful things, such as indicate whether drinking water is safe by turning red if they sense a toxin. E. chromi won the Grand Prize at the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM)."
echromi  2009  biobricks  dna  genetics  geneticengineering  bacteria  syntheticbiology  from delicious
9 weeks ago by robertogreco
You Can't Fuck the System If You've Never Met One by Casey A. Gollan
"Part of the reason systems are hard to see is because they're an abstraction. They don't really exist until you articulate them.

And any two things don't make a system, even where there are strong correlations. Towns with more trees have lower divorce rates, for example, but you'd be hard-pressed to go anywhere with that.

However, if you can manage to divine the secret connections and interdependencies between things, it's like putting on glasses for the first time. Your headache goes away and you can focus on how you want to change things.

I learned that in systems analysis — if you'd like to change the world — there is a sweet spot between low and high level thinking. In this space you are not dumbfoundedly adjusting variables…nor are you contemplating the void.

In the same way that systems don't exist until you point them out…"

"This is probably a built up series of misunderstandings. I look forward to revising these ideas."
color  cooperunion  awareness  systemsawareness  binary  processing  alexandergalloway  nilsaallbarricelli  willwright  pets  superpokepets  superpoke  juliandibbell  dna  simulations  trust  hyper-educated  consulting  genetics  power  richarddawkins  generalizations  capitalism  systemsdesign  relationships  ownership  privacy  identity  cities  socialgovernment  government  thesims  sims  google  politics  facebooks  donatellameadows  sherryturkle  emotions  human  patterns  patternrecognition  systemsthinking  systems  2012  caseygollan  donellameadows  from delicious
12 weeks ago by robertogreco
The Essential Psychopathology Of Creativity
"The point here is this: Were it not for those “disordered” genes, you wouldn’t have extremely creative, successful people.  Being in the absolute middle of every trait spectrum, not too extreme in any one direction, makes you balanced, but rather boring.  The tails of the spectrum, or the fringe, is where all the exciting stuff happens.  Some of the exciting stuff goes uncontrolled and ends up being a psychological disorder, but some of those people with the traits that define Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, ADHD, and other psychological conditions, have the fortunate gift of high cognitive control paired with those traits, and end up being the creative geniuses that we admire, aspire to be like, and desperately need in this world.

…If we were to be able to identify the genes for Schizophrenia, or for Bipolar Disorder, or for ADHD… would we want to eliminate them? If we were making a “designer baby”, would you choose those genes to be added into your child’s genome?

I say yes."
lianegabora  johngartner  hypomaticedge  hypomanicepisodes  flow  mihalycsikszentmihalyi  entrepreneurship  executivefunction  cognitivecontrol  psychopathology  genetics  brain  psychology  bipolardisorder  schizophrenia  adhd  andreakuszewski  2010  creativity 
february 2012 by robertogreco
singapore art biennale 2011: candice breitz
"contemplate the idea of individuality, the process of individuation, and one's relationship to a larger community…the process of individuation, and one's relationship to a larger community. in her most recent piece entitled 'factum' 2010, she interviews seven sets of identical twins and one set of triplets (age ranging from teens to grandmothers), that have been edited into dual-channel presentations…<br />
all are mono-zygotic twins who spent their formative lives together and are able to draw upon shared memory and experiences. filmed in a setting of their choosing (in one of the homes of a twin) and asked to dress as identically as possible, the twins were individually interviewed by breitz for about 5 - 7 hours giving both individuals the opportunity to narrate their own story as they chose to. covering intimate topics including childhood, sibling rivalry and family history, and at the same time allowing each subject to address their relationship to the world at large."
candicebreitz  film  interviews  art  identity  community  classideas  individuality  twins  triplets  families  genetics  genes  video  towatch  from delicious
august 2011 by robertogreco
Center for PostNatural History [via: http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2011/04/richard-pell-director-of-the-c.php ]
"The Center for PostNatural History is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge relating to the complex interplay between culture, nature and biotechnology. The PostNatural  refers to living organisms that have been altered through processes such as selective breeding or  genetic engineering. The mission of the Center for PostNatural History is to acquire, interpret and provide access to a collection of living, preserved and documented organisms of postnatural origin.<br />
<br />
The Center for PostNatural History addresses this goal through three primary initiatives:<br />
<br />
The maintenance of a unique catalog of living, preserved and documented specimens of postnatural origin.<br />
<br />
The production of traveling exhibitions that address the PostNatural through thematic and regional perspectives.<br />
<br />
The establishment of a permanent exhibition and research facility for PostNatural studies."
future  biology  genetics  museum  richardpell  centerforpostnaturalhistory  history  postnaturalhistory  pittsburgh  geneticengineering  selectivebreeding  life  interviews  cloning  modification  mutation  plants  animals  biotechnology  biotech  culture  nature  postnatural  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
Interview with Richard Pell, Director of the Center for PostNatural History - we make money not art
"If you want to see a penguin, you go to the zoo. If you're curious about dinosaurs and dodos, any natural history museum will enlighten you. But where do you go if you want to learn about spider silk-producing goats, anti-malarial mosquitoes, fluorescent zebrafish or the terminator gene?<br />
<br />
Right now, you can only rely on good old internet. But in June, the Center for PostNatural History will finally open its doors to anyone interested in genetically engineered life forms. This public outreach organization is dedicated to collecting, documenting and exhibiting life forms that have been intentionally altered by people through processes such as selective breeding and genetic engineering."
future  biology  genetics  museum  wmmna  richardpell  centerforpostnaturalhistory  history  postnaturalhistory  2011  pittsburgh  geneticengineering  selectivebreeding  life  interviews  cloning  modification  mutation  plants  animals  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
Gene Mutation Tied to Needing Less Sleep - NYTimes.com
"Dr. Fu said that while many people might sleep only six or fewer hours a night, most were not naturally short sleepers. For instance, they use stimulants and alarm clocks to maintain a shortened sleep schedule.<br />
<br />
“Many people get only six hours of sleep a night, but we drink coffee and tea to make ourselves stay up,” she said. “That’s a very different thing. Our body needs 8 to 8.5 hours.”<br />
<br />
The genetic mutation appears to be rare. Out of 70 families with known sleep problems studied at the university, only one family carried the mutation. Dr. Fu said fewer than 5 percent of people appeared to be naturally short sleepers.<br />
<br />
The real benefit of the research will come if and when the mutation is identified in other individuals. That could lead to new discoveries about sleep timing and duration, and possibly new treatments for sleep disorders."
sleep  psychology  health  science  genetics  mutations  mutants  human  sleepdisorder  insomnia  via:cervus  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
The Good Show - Radiolab
"In this episode, a question that haunted Charles Darwin: if natural selection boils down to survival of the fittest, how do you explain why one creature might stick its neck out for another?<br />
<br />
The standard view of evolution is that living things are shaped by cold-hearted competition. And there is no doubt that today's plants and animals carry the genetic legacy of ancestors who fought fiercely to survive and reproduce. But in this hour, we wonder whether there might also be a logic behind sharing, niceness, kindness ... or even, self-sacrifice. Is altruism an aberration, or just an elaborate guise for sneaky self-interest? Do we really live in a selfish, dog-eat-dog world? Or has evolution carved out a hidden code that rewards genuine cooperation?" [Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/books/review/deWaal-t.html?pagewanted=all ]
radiolab  good  altruism  genetics  instinct  generosity  evolution  georgeprice  heroism  heroes  gametheory  math  selfishness  self-preservation  human  cooperation  niceness  kindness  survival  reproduction  darwin  from delicious
december 2010 by robertogreco
Language Log » A doubtful benevolence: Mark Twain on spelling
"Mark Twain:<br />
<br />
"As I have said before, I never had any large respect for good spelling. That is my feeling yet. Before the spelling book came with its arbitrary forms, men unconsciously revealed shades of their characters, and also added enlightening shades of expression to what they wrote by their spelling, and so it is possible that the spelling book has been a doubtful benevolence to us."<br />
<br />
He leads up to this conclusion with a curious theory of orthographico-genetic determinism, illustrated from personal experience:<br />
<br />
"The ability to spell is a natural gift. The person not born with it can never become perfect in it. I was always able to spell correctly. My wife, and her sister, Mrs. Crane, were always bad spellers. Once when Clara was a little chap, her mother was away from home for a few days, and Clara wrote her a small letter every day. When her mother returned, she praised Clara's letters. Then she said, "But in one of them, Clara, you spelled a word wrong.""
language  spelling  marktwain  english  genetics  humor  rewards  childhood  dyslexia  writing  intelligence  cv  from delicious
december 2010 by robertogreco
Siblings Share Genes, But Rarely Personalities : NPR
"Theory One: Divergence: The first is a view popularized by a Darwin scholar named Frank Sulloway. In Sulloway's view, competition is the engine that pushes evolution — just as in the wild. Therefore, in the context of a family, one of the main things that's happening is that children are competing for the time, love and attention of their parents.<br />
<br />
Theory Two: Environment: The second theory has a slightly confusing name; it's called the non-shared environment theory, and it essentially argues that though from the outside it appears that we are growing up in the same family as our siblings, in very important ways we really aren't. We are not experiencing the same thing.<br />
<br />
Theory Three: Exaggeration: The final theory is the comparison theory, which holds that families are essentially comparison machines that greatly exaggerate even minor differences between siblings."
psychology  children  families  parenting  evolution  personality  science  siblings  parents  nurture  genetics  heredity  from delicious
november 2010 by robertogreco
The Science Behind Why We Love Ice Cream (and Other Things Creamy) - WSJ.com
"A new genetic study shows that people produce strikingly different amounts of amylase, and that the more of the enzyme people have in their mouth the faster they can liquefy starchy foods.

Scientists think this finding could help explain why people experience foods as creamy or slimy, sticky or watery, and that this perception could affect our preference for foods. For the numerous foods that contain starch, including pudding, sauces and even maple syrup, what can feel just right to some people is experienced as too runny or not melting enough for others because they produce different amounts of the enzyme."
food  taste  texture  pickyeaters  psychology  vegetables  icecream  senses  genetics  science  diet  dna 
november 2010 by robertogreco
Human Kind: Sissela Bok reviews "The Price of Altruism" by Oren Harman | The American Scholar
"For Darwin, the question of human morality never had to do with pure selflessness. In The Descent of Man he expressed his considered conviction that cultural factors such as “the effects of habit, the reasoning powers, instruction, religion, &c.” play a much more important role than natural selection in advancing what he called the moral qualities of human beings, “though to this latter agency the social instincts, which afforded the basis for the development of the moral sense, may be safely attributed.”<br />
<br />
Harman, in his closing pages, underscores the role that culture and education still play in human altruistic behaviors, despite claims by biological determinists that genes run the show. His book is an important contribution to the collaborative work on altruism as it relates to self-interest now increasingly under way, not only in the natural sciences but also in philosophy, political science, economics, and anthropology."
humans  humanism  altruism  selflessness  education  teaching  learning  culture  economics  philosophy  politics  anthropology  collaboration  empathy  biology  evolution  darwin  behavior  society  genetics  naturenurture  nature  biologicaldeterminism  determinism  orenharman  sisselabok  morality  humannature  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
The depression map: genes, culture, serotonin, and a side of pathogens | Wired Science | Wired.com
"Maps can tell surprising stories. About a year ago, Northwestern University psychologist Joan Chiao pondered a set of global maps that confounded conventional notions of what depression is, why we get it, and how genes — the so-called “depression gene” in particular — interact with environment and culture."
depression  asia  culture  psychology  genes  genetics  environment  science  maps  mapping  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
Guest Blog: Man's new best friend? A forgotten Russian experiment in fox domestication
[As summarized here: http://o-song.tumblr.com/post/1083774173/happy-skydiving-fox-embracing-bottom-crimewave] "In Soviet Russia, foxes tame you! Story of a fascinating experiment by which a Russian geneticist secretly bred foxes for friendliness and fearlessness of humans, and which ended up making the foxes look like dogs - unlike wild foxes, they had floppy ears and shorter tails and doggish colour splotches on their coats."
evolution  science  dogs  foxes  domestication  russia  genetics  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
Sergey Brin’s Search for a Parkinson’s Cure | Magazine
In other words, Brin is proposing to bypass centuries of scientific epistemology in favor of a more Googley kind of science. He wants to collect data first, then hypothesize, and then find the patterns that lead to answers. And he has the money and the algorithms to do it...But, surprisingly, the concept of genetic information as toxic has persisted, possibly because it presumes that people aren’t equipped to learn about themselves...“People were predicting catastrophic reactions,” Green recalls. “Depression, suicide, quitting their jobs, abandoning their families. They were anticipating the worst.” But that isn’t what happened....In other words, given what seems like very bad news, most of us would do what Sergey Brin did: Go over our options, get some advice, and move on with life...Can a model fueled by data sets and computational power compete with the gold standard of research?
sergeybrin  google  23andme  parkinsons  genetics  genomics  datamining  database  data  dna  disease  medicine  future  search  health  innovation  science  research 
july 2010 by robertogreco
A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret : NPR [via: http://stevemiranda.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/what-cheaters-and-sadists-can-teach-us-about-school/]
"Fallon calls up another slide on his computer. It has a list of family members' names, and next to them, the results of the genotyping. Everyone in his family has the low-aggression variant of the MAO-A gene, except for one person.
neuroscience  crime  ethics  brain  biology  nurture  nature  neurology  psychology  science  violence  genetics  genes  medicine  npr  law  neurolaw 
july 2010 by robertogreco
The Quantified Self - What I Learned from Tourette's
"6 months ago, I got my 23andMe genetic test results. They showed mostly what I expected: 30% chance of diabetes...All of these things are found in my extended family to some degree.
alexandracarmichael  tourettes  2010  23andme  dna  genetics  health  quantifiedself 
july 2010 by robertogreco
The Curious Cook - Why Cilantro Tastes Like Soap, for Some - NYTimes.com [ends with mention of cilantro pesto]
"smell & taste evolved to evoke strong emotions because they were critical to finding food & mates & avoiding poisons & predators. When we taste a food, brain searches its memory to find pattern from past experience that flavor belongs to. Then it uses that pattern to create perception of flavor, including evaluation of its desirability.
genetics  food  cilantro  recipes  taste  smell  edg  srg  glvo 
april 2010 by robertogreco
FORA.tv - Stewart Brand: Rethinking Green
via: http://anti-mega.com/antimega/2010/01/19/more-science-needed
stewartbrand  longnow  bighere  alexanderrose  green  sustainability  science  data  technology  problemsolving  climatechange  energy  nuclear  geneticallymofifiedfoods  geneticallyengineeredfood  genetics  engineering  electricity  geoengineering 
january 2010 by robertogreco
The Atlantic Online | December 2009 | The Science of Success | David Dobbs
"Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people."
nature  nurture  evolution  society  genetics  animals  biology  behavior  genes  creativity  psychology  science  children  success  dandelions  orchids  depression  serotonin  life  toread 
december 2009 by robertogreco
The Science of Success - The Atlantic (December 2009)
"Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people."
education  psychology  science  research  environment  parenting  behavior  relationships  intelligence  evolution  depression  aspergers  genes  nurture  nature  development  networking  success  genetics 
november 2009 by robertogreco
Cell Size and Scale
genetics  microbiology  science  visualization  chemistry  biology  carbon  scale  atom  microscope  coffee  interactive  srg  edg  glvo  cells 
october 2009 by robertogreco
Will Carey – Gifted Dreams
"Gifted Dreams presents illustrations that explore how the dreams and fantasies of children might change as a result of new genetic technologies. This work is part of a series of design explorations that address the social, ethical and personal implications of genetic technology. The book presents an imaginative world that explores the fantasies and dreams of children who have explored what it might be like to live with the abilities afforded by such intervention. Being able to dream and tell stories enables us to extend our understanding of people and society, providing insight into the more complex, colourful and contradictory dimensions of experience beyond the worlds of science and rational choice."
willcarey  art  design  children  dreams  genetics  future  science  fantasy  glvo  srg  edg 
october 2009 by robertogreco
Nicolas Myers :: Portfolio :: Transgenic Bestiary
"Transgenic Bestiary is a game that envisions the use of animal dna to discover biodiversity, understand taxonomy and create imaginary collections of virtual hybrids."

[via: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ludens/3959950591/ ]
nicholasmyers  bestiary  genetics  dna  art  design  taxonomy  science  biology  tcsnmy  biodiversity  imagination  creativity  hybrids  srg  glvo  edg 
september 2009 by robertogreco
Design Interactions, Gifted [via: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ludens/3960704506/]
"speculates on how individual’s genetic make-up may one day be engineered before birth & then controlled or turned off & on throughout a child’s life. The burgeoning & revolutionary science of genetics is here to stay & will surely become part of human evolutionary process in future, however this intervention brings with it moral & ethical issues...addresses some of these issues by focusing on how young children may want to take charge of their genetic future. For instance, a child’s fantasies & desire may subvert & manipulate the very genetic gifts that parents had chosen for them before birth...how might the expression of particular genes be controlled throughout a child’s development? Should the adult or child have control & how might they reach a compromise? By taking children’s ideas & desires as a starting point, this project presents a series of prototypes that give an insight into how the future can be adapted by those that will live it differently to parents in control today."
tcsnmy  genetics  science  ethics  children  parenting  future  art  design  willcarey 
september 2009 by robertogreco
BBC - Earth News - Ant mega-colony takes over world: A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered.
"Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.
insects  ants  argentineants  colonies  supercolonies  biology  nature  animals  ecology  earth  genetics  science  environment  evolution  emergence 
july 2009 by robertogreco
The geneticist in the garage | Technology | The Guardian
"Meredith Patterson is not your typical genetic scientist. Her laboratory is based in the dining room of her San Francisco apartment. She uses a plastic salad spinner as a centrifuge and Ziploc plastic bags as airtight containers for her samples. But the genetically modified organism (GMO) she is attempting to create on a budget of less than $500 (£350) could provide a breakthrough in food safety.
via:preoccupations  biotechnology  diybio  science  diy  independent  activism  biology  biotech  biohacking  genetics  publicdomain 
march 2009 by robertogreco
DIYbio
"DIYbio is an organization that aims to help make biology a worthwhile pursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists, and DIY biological engineers who value openness and safety. This will require mechanisms for amateurs to increase their knowledge and skills, access to a community of experts, the development of a code of ethics, responsible oversight, and leadership on issues that are unique to doing biology outside of traditional professional settings."
diybio  biohacking  biology  education  technology  opensource  diy  howto  biotech  bioart  genetics  genomics  amateur  dna  biotechnology  tcsnmy  projectideas  science  hacking  art  research  bioinformatics  engineering  community 
march 2009 by robertogreco
Routes Game
"Your genes hold some pretty hardcore information; about your size and shape, alcohol tolerance, risk of major disease, maybe even your intelligence. But is that all there is to it? Is your destiny mapped out in your genes? Play Routes over the next 8 weeks and find out. Dig deep enough and who knows what secrets you might uncover...?"
education  games  arg  gaming  genetics  play  narrative  channel4  routes 
january 2009 by robertogreco
My Genome, My Self - Steven Pinker Gets to the Bottom of his own Genetic Code - NYTimes.com
"An obvious candidate for the real answer is that we are shaped by our genes in ways that none of us can directly know...Each of us is dealt a unique hand of tastes and aptitudes, like curiosity, ambition, empathy, a thirst for novelty or for security, a comfort level with the social or the mechanical or the abstract. Some opportunities we come across click with our constitutions and set us along a path in life." "So if you are bitten by scientific or personal curiosity and can think in probabilities, by all means enjoy the fruits of personal genomics. But if you want to know whether you are at risk for high cholesterol, have your cholesterol measured; if you want to know whether you are good at math, take a math test. And if you really want to know yourself...consider the suggestion of François LaRochefoucauld: “Our enemies’ opinion of us comes closer to the truth than our own.”"
stevenpinker  genetics  culture  science  psychology  genomics  DNA  self 
january 2009 by robertogreco
Sports May Be Child’s Play, but Genetic Testing Is Not - NYTimes.com
"In this era of genetic testing, DNA is being analyzed to determine predispositions to disease, but experts raise serious questions about marketing it as a first step in finding a child’s sports niche, which some parents consider the road to a college scholarship or a career as a professional athlete.
technology  sports  genetics  parenting  athletes  dna 
december 2008 by robertogreco
David Byrne Journal: 11.23.08: Planet of the Neanderthals
"So then what happens if we bring Mr. Smarty Pants back to life? If he were joined by some of his mates, wouldn’t they eventually realize that they were smarter than us? Would they bide their time, hiding their agenda, and ultimately sabotage our world, taking charge of our pathetic unintelligent mobs? Cornelius may indeed have been smarter than Charlton Heston; those movies might not be as far-fetched as we thought."
neanderthals  davidbyrne  genetics  dna  intelligence  evolution  darwin  genes  naturalselection 
december 2008 by robertogreco
Seed: How We Evolve
"since the turn of the millennium, genomics has undergone a revolution. With the completion of such landmark studies as the Human Genome Project and the publication of HapMap, scientists finally have access to the particles of evolution. They can inspect vast stretches of DNA from people of all ethnicities, and the colossal amount of information suddenly available has spurred a revision of the old static picture that will render it unrecognizable. Harpending and a host of researchers have discovered in our DNA evidence that culture, far from halting evolution, appears to accelerate it."
human  evolution  science  genetics  anthropology  culture  biology  race  DNA  academia  evolutionarypsychology  psychology  intelligence  society 
october 2008 by robertogreco
Emergence Of Agriculture In Prehistory Took Much Longer, Genetic Evidence Suggests
"Until recently researchers say the story of the origin of agriculture was one of a relatively sudden appearance of plant cultivation in the Near East around 10,000 years ago spreading quickly into Europe and dovetailing conveniently with ideas about how quickly language and population genes spread from the Near East to Europe. Initially, genetics appeared to support this idea but now cracks are beginning to appear in the evidence underpinning that model"
archaeology  history  farming  human  culture  society  food  agriculture  genetics  middleeast  botany  civilization  tcsnmy  classideas 
september 2008 by robertogreco
too - LRRK2
"I carry the G2019S mutation and when my mother checked her account, she saw she carries it too. The exact implications of this are not entirely clear. Early studies tend to have small samples with various selection biases. Nonetheless it is clear that I have a markedly higher chance of developing Parkinson's in my lifetime than the average person. In fact, it is somewhere between 20-80% depending on the study and how you measure. At the same time, research into LRRK2 looks intriguing. This leaves me in a rather unique position. I know early in my life something I am substantially predisposed to. I now have the opportunity to adjust my life to reduce those odds (e.g. there is evidence that exercise may be protective against Parkinson's). I also have the opportunity to perform and support research into this disease long before it may affect me. And, regardless of my own health it can help my family members as well as others."
sergeybrin  genetics  optimism  health  future 
september 2008 by robertogreco
Marginal Revolution: Nationalism
"What do you get when you plot the genetic fingerprints of more than 1000 Europeans on a grid? An image that looks surprisingly like a map of Europe. The findings reveal that our DNA contains a sort of global positioning system, which researchers can use to pinpoint where in the world both we and our relatives came from...."
genetics  maps  mapping  demographics  europe  DNA 
september 2008 by robertogreco
Seedmagazine.com | Revolutionary Minds | The Re-envisionaries
"The more science advances, the less, it seems, that any one discipline holds all the answers—even to the problems that a discipline was originally conceived to answer. So it's not surprising that some of today's most innovative scientific thinkers are making breakthroughs by hybridizing multiple fields. In this installment of Seed's Revolutionary Minds series, we feature five young researchers whose work fuses seemingly disparate disciplines. By drawing upon the techniques, insights, or standard models of other scientific fields, these individuals are redefining their own. Among them are a computer scientist who rethought the concept of information after studying immune systems; an archaeologist who believes material culture is an important driver of human cognitive evolution; and an astronomer who has discovered how to take an MRI of the cosmos. These thinkers are doing more than merely crossing disciplinary boundaries—they are altogether shattering them."
science  innovation  interdisciplinary  crossdisciplinary  crosspollination  seed  neuroscience  astronomy  genetics  fringe  neuroarchaeology  geneticacculturation  immunocomputing  stochasticbiology  biology  physics  astronomicalmedicine  lambrosmalafouris  cognitive  cognitiveevolution  extendedmind  multidisciplinary  archaeology  gamechanging  anthropology  philosophy 
august 2008 by robertogreco
Autism Genes That Control Early Learning: Scientific American
"
autism  research  learning  children  genetics  intervention 
july 2008 by robertogreco
The Quantified Self: First Personal Genome User Group - "what I have learned by messing around in personal quantified genomics in the last six months:
"far less known about proven genetic diseases that I thought...Sequencing is not just about health...Your DNA can reveal much about your deep genetic past...I have been surprised at how fast & eager users have been to share their genetic data"
dna  kevinkelly  genome  23andme  genetics  sequencing  privacy  data  information  health  personalinformatics 
july 2008 by robertogreco
Atlas of the Human Journey - The Genographic Project
"seeking to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species by using sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. In this unprecedented and real-time resea
history  genetics  maps  evolution  science  human  dna  timelines  storytelling  migration  anthropology  paleontology  humans  ethnography  environment  mapping  visualization  prehistoric  ancienthistory 
june 2008 by robertogreco
J. Craig Venter Institute
see also: http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/7 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Venter and http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/venter.html
genetics  science  biology  lajolla  sandiego  transhumanism  genomics  craigventer  biotechnology 
may 2008 by robertogreco
Biomimetics - National Geographic Magazine
"What has fins like a whale, skin like a lizard, and eyes like a moth? The future of engineering."
biomimicry  biomimetics  biology  design  engineering  genetics  science  animals  life  nature 
april 2008 by robertogreco
Registry of Standard Biological Parts
wiki  database  biology  biotechnology  engineering  DNA  research  science  genomics  simulations  sensors  genetics  hacking 
march 2008 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Americas | Scientists advance 'drought crop'
"Scientists say they have made a key breakthrough in understanding the genes of plants that could lead to crops that can survive in a drought."
agriculture  botany  disasters  drought  environment  genetics  science  technology  future  food 
february 2008 by robertogreco
Identical twins not as identical as believed
"Contrary to our previous beliefs, identical twins are not genetically identical. This surprising finding is presented by American, Swedish, and Dutch scientists in a study being published today in the prestigious journal American Journal of Human Genetic
genetics  health  science  biology  twins 
february 2008 by robertogreco
Seed: Will Self + Spencer Wells
"The writer and the genetic anthropologist meet up to talk about place, identity, and what it means to be human."
willself  walking  transhumanism  psychogeography  genetics  evolution  biology  culture  anthropology  religion  history  genocide  human  geography 
february 2008 by robertogreco
Scientists Build First Man-Made Genome; Synthetic Life Comes Next
"With the new ability to sequence a genome, scientists can begin to custom-design organisms, essentially creating biological robots that can produce from scratch chemicals humans can use. Biofuels like ethanol, for example."
genetics  DNA  science  life  biotechnology  robots  coding  cloning  biology 
january 2008 by robertogreco
Human Cloning - Ethics - New York Times
"American and European researchers have made most of the progress so far in biotechnology. Yet they still face one very large obstacle — God, as defined by some Western religions."
science  research  cloning  religion  culture  asia  west  us  europe  biotechnology  genetics 
january 2008 by robertogreco
Nurture is really kicking ass these days....first the IQ thing and now this. (kottke.org)
"The offspring of expensive stallions owe their success more to how they are reared, trained and ridden than good genes, a study has found. Only 10% of a horse's lifetime winnings can be attributed to their bloodline, research in Biology Letters shows."
nature  nurture  iq  sociology  animals  science  research  psychology  horses  genetics 
december 2007 by robertogreco
214 - The Blonde Map of Europe « strange maps
"This map, indicating the varying degrees of ‘blondness’ in Europe, shows how fair hair gets rarer further away from this core area – towards the south, as one intuitively might presume, but also towards the east, west and even towards the north."
mapping  ethnography  maps  scandinavia  demographics  blonde  visualization  europe  biology  geography  anthropology  genetics 
december 2007 by robertogreco
Humans Evolving More Rapidly Than Ever, Say Scientists | Wired Science from Wired.com
"The findings, published today by a team of U.S. anthropologists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, overturn the theory that modern life's relative ease has slowed or even stopped human adaptation."
anthropology  biology  DNA  culture  evolution  future  genetics  history  human  science 
december 2007 by robertogreco
Are the family clichés true? - Independent Online Edition > Science & Tech
"The middle one's always difficult, the eldest is a bossy boots and the youngest is a tearaway. But are the family clichés true? Finally, scientists have the answer. Steve Connor (youngest of two) reports"
birthorder  children  families  genetics  intelligence  nurture  nature  psychology  research  sociology  parenting  birth 
november 2007 by robertogreco
23andMe - Genetics Just Got Personal.
as seen in Wired article: http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/magazine/15-12/ff_genomics
genetics  genomics  genealogy  technology  biology  science  personal  biotechnology  anthropology  analysis  medicine  health  human  profiling  genes  mapping 
november 2007 by robertogreco
Seed: Cribsheet #12: Genetics
"Scientific issues and innovations are figuring into everyday conversation more than ever before. Recognizing that we could all use some brushing up, Seed offers its Cribsheet."
biology  education  genetics  reference  science 
november 2007 by robertogreco
23AndMe Will Decode Your DNA for $1,000. Welcome to the Age of Genomics
"advent of retail genomics will make once-rare experience commonplace. Simply spitting into a vial...We will not live according to what has happened to us, but according to what our own specific genetic risks predispose us toward.
genomics  genetics  law  personal  dna  science  health 
november 2007 by robertogreco
The mouse that shook the world - Independent Online Edition > Science & Tech
"It can run for hours at 20 metres per minute without getting tired. It lives longer, has more sex, and eats more without gaining weight. Could the science that created this supermouse be applied to humans?"
biology  biotechnology  engineering  ethics  genetics  longevity  transhumanism  science  animals 
november 2007 by robertogreco
Human race will 'split into two different species' | the Daily Mail
"The human race will one day split into two separate species, an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures, according to a top scientist."
human  evolution  genetics  future  futurism  science  race 
october 2007 by robertogreco
Ziba Kashef for ColorLines
Scientists...acknowledge the influence of environment & lifestyle on disease & disparities. laser-like focus on...genes as source of understanding & treating disease has been tempered...But the damage to our society’s understanding of race may be done."
biology  race  science  medicine  research  disease  genetics 
october 2007 by robertogreco
Modern speech gene found in Neanderthals : Nature News
"Genetic studies hint Neanderthals were equipped for language."
linguistics  language  biology  genetics  history  science  neanderthals 
october 2007 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Europe | France approves migrant DNA tests
"France's Senate has approved a controversial law allowing voluntary DNA tests for would-be immigrants seeking to join family in France."
immigration  france  policy  politics  migration  law  dna  genetics 
october 2007 by robertogreco
VQR » Aicuña Is Not an Albino Town
"Isolated geographically and culturally, the inhabitants are little prepared to cope with the twenty-first century. In the face of outside curiosity, rumor, and intrusion, most have retreated further into reactionary seclusion, turning decisively, and dis
community  argentina  anthropology  culture  albino  isolation  genetics 
october 2007 by robertogreco
Berliner Liste
"The anthropomorphic sculptures explore the possibilities of genetic deviation and ponder society's fears and reluctant fascinations with the unexplained while offering a look at the inconceivable yet probable devolution of man"
art  plush  glvo  evolution  mutation  genetics  animals  humans  sculpture  photography 
october 2007 by robertogreco
Seed: The Evolution of Language
"What songbirds, dancing, and knot-tying can tell us about why we speak."
evolution  genetics  language  linguistics  human  speech  brain  science 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Hiroshima scientists create transparent frogs ::: Pink Tentacle
"A research team led by professor Masayuki Sumida at Hiroshima University’s Institute for Amphibian Biology has created a type of transparent frog whose internal organs are visible through its skin."
animals  genetics  science  frogs  amphibians  design 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Lifestyle Pets * Unique and Rare Animals * Exclusive Pets
animals  design  pets  genetics  biology  breeding  hybrids  geneticengineering  engineering  biotechnology  cats 
august 2007 by robertogreco
biotechhobbyistmagazine
art  artist  biology  diy  genetics  howto  science  biotechnology  glvo  make  tutorials 
july 2007 by robertogreco
BUILT REPORT - Schwarzenegger Cows Photo Gallery
"Belgian Blue Beef are famous for their "double muscling" due to a gene that suppresses the production of Myostatin. Myostatin is a protein that normally inhibits muscle growth after a certain point of development. Pure Belgian Blue carry two copies of th
anatomy  animals  medicine  biology  cows  genetics  oddities 
july 2007 by robertogreco
New DNA kits unlock pet pedigrees | csmonitor.com
"Curious dog owners can now determine their mutt's ancestry."
dogs  genetics  dna  ancestry  science  biology  services 
july 2007 by robertogreco
Mutations in Moms' Genes Reveal Human Migration Through the Ages
"DNA passed down through generations of mothers could help answer big questions about the human journey across continents, thanks to a massive new database created by the The Genographic Project."
anthropology  evolution  genetics  global  human  history  migration  science 
june 2007 by robertogreco
Research deciphers 'déjà-vu' brain mechanics - MIT News Office
"Neuroscientists at... MIT report in the June 7 early online edition of Science that they have identified for the first time a neuronal mechanism that helps us rapidly distinguish similar, yet distinct, places. The discovery helps explain the sensation of
dejavu  memory  neuroscience  psychology  science  cognition  cognitive  genetics  knowledge  research  health  brain  biology 
june 2007 by robertogreco
See Those Fingers? Do the Math -- Holden 2007 (525): 1 -- ScienceNOW
"Boys with the longest ring fingers relative to their index fingers tend to excel in math, according to a new study. In girls, shorter ring fingers predict better verbal skills."
biology  boys  gender  genetics  girls  intelligence  language  math  psychology  medicine  science  research 
june 2007 by robertogreco
What's in a Name? The Future of Life
"The so-called binomial system of genus and species that Linse and thousands of other biologists use today was first proposed by a Swedish biologist born 300 years ago Wednesday, Carolus Linnaeus."
biology  classification  taxonomy  nature  animals  evolution  science  globalization  life  genetics  visualization 
may 2007 by robertogreco
Essays: 'Why home doesn't matter' by Judith Rich Harris | Prospect Magazine May 2007 issue 134
"parents influence their children mainly by passing on their genes. The biggest environmental influences on personality are those that occur outside the home"
parenting  psychology  toread  naturenurture  nature  nurture  environment  learning  behavior  schools  children  personality  genetics 
may 2007 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | DNA study sheds light on dog size
"A single gene could explain much of the size difference between dog breeds, according to a study."
dogs  genetics  science  animals  nature  biology 
april 2007 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Health | Semi-identical twins discovered
"Scientists have revealed details of the world's only known case of "semi-identical" twins."
biology  children  human  medicine  science  genetics  health 
march 2007 by robertogreco
Study: Genetic info swapped between different species | CNET News.com
"Researchers at Rice University have created a mathematical model that helps build the argument that evolution doesn't proceed solely through breeding and genetic mutations. Rather, organisms also swap large sections of DNA."
science  research  evolution  genetics  biology  rice 
january 2007 by robertogreco
Study Detects Recent Instance of Human Evolution - New York Times
"A surprisingly recent instance of human evolution has been detected among the peoples of East Africa. It is the ability to digest milk in adulthood, conferred by genetic changes that occurred as recently as 3,000 years ago, a team of geneticists has foun
biology  evolution  science  anthropology  human  research  genetics 
december 2006 by robertogreco
John Conway's Game of Life
evolution  biology  life  math  science  genetics  glvo  living  games  simulations  ai  artificial  complexity  computers  programming  software 
december 2006 by robertogreco
Conway's Game of Life
evolution  biology  life  math  science  genetics  glvo  living  games  simulations  ai  artificial  complexity  computers  programming  software 
december 2006 by robertogreco
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