Double X Science - It's In Your Genes

Search Results for: label/genetic code

  • No gene is an island: What do scientists mean when they talk about environment and genes?

    Nope. This island does not represent your genes. (Source) When you read news stories about what affects a developing human in the womb or how cancer or obesity arises, you probably also see references to genes and environment. Some articles may focus on genes versus environment, or mention that something is “mostly” genetic or that the “environment” contributes to a disorder or trait in some way. What some people…

    Authored by on May 7, 2012

  • Biology Explainer: The big 4 building blocks of life–carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids

    …molecules themselves break down into a surprisingly small number of building blocks. The proteins that make up all of the living things on this planet and ensure their appropriate structure and smooth function consist of only 20 different kinds of building blocks. Nucleic acids, specifically DNA, are even more basic: only four different kinds of molecules provide the materials to build the countless different genetic codes that translate into all…

    Authored by on June 8, 2012

  • Depressing genes

    Can depression be a matter of genetic fate? by Siobhan Mitchell          [This post is the latest installment in our I Am Mental Illness series.] What if you could know if you were fated to be depressed? With the rise of personal genotyping services such as 23andme, almost can find out what their psychiatric ‘fate’ will be, but what do you do with this information once you have it? When I first considered testing myself for depressio…

    Authored by on May 17, 2013

  • Biology Xplainer: Evolution and how it happens

    …he population will change over time. It will be adapted to its environment. It will evolve. Other mechanisms of evolution A pigeon depicted in Charles Darwin’sVariation of Animals and PlantsUnder Domestication, 1868. U.S.public domain image, via Wikimedia. When Darwin presented his idea of natural selection, he knew he had an audience to win over. He pointed out that people select features of organisms all the time and breed the…

    Authored by on January 29, 2012

  • From spiders to breast cancer: Leslie Brunetta talks candidly about her cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up

    …very giving. I live in Cambridge, MA, where I could actually make choices about where I wanted to be treated at each phase and know I’d get excellent, humane care and where none of the facilities I went to was more than about 20 minutes away. Some things that women might have some control over and that their families might help nudge them toward: Find doctors you trust. Ask a lot of questions and make sure you understand the answers. But do…

    Authored by on January 31, 2012

  • Creating viruses to create the vaccines?

    Synthetic viruses could mean a faster flu vax. by Carrie Arnold     In 2009, scientists scrambled to develop a vaccine against the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Although the first cases of illness were reported in March, a vaccine wasn’t ready in the U.S. until late September — a lag of almost seven months. Large amounts of vaccine weren’t available until several months after that. By then, the second wave of infections had peaked, as had much…

    Authored by on May 20, 2013

  • Depression and alcoholism: all in the family

    …be a factor because I had operations within months of each depressive episode. But my genetic load is probably a bigger influence. My family history is full of depression and alcoholism. In 1st-degree (siblings, parents) and 2nd-degree (grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews) relatives, 11 of 12 people have been treated for depression and/or alcoholism. If we move to 3rd degree relatives, the absolute numbers get higher but the proportion…

    Authored by on February 15, 2013

  • DoubleXpressions — Nazneen Rahman, Cancer Doctor and Jazz Singer

    …t last year I posted some of my songs online and had a really positive response, which was unexpected and lovely. I now have over 1000 followers and have been inspired to make an album which I am hoping to release sometime in 2013. My songs tend be stories about the complexities of life, with lush harmonies, quite a jazzy feel and I have a fondness for a slinky bass line. DXS:  Do you find that your scientific background informs your creativity,…

    Authored by on February 28, 2013

  • After Newtown missteps, journalists get guidelines

    …almost twice as likely to say that they don’t want to live or work near a person with mental illness if they read an article about a person with mental illness involved in a mass shooting, according to a study published March 20 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Interestingly, this tendency is the same even if the article avoids any mention of mental illness. This may be because this link between violence and mental illness is deeply engrain…

    Authored by on March 27, 2013

  • Headlights and beads on a string

    …has evolved to keep DNA both compact and easily accessible. To fully appreciate this, one must consider the scale of this molecular machinery. If placed end-to-end, the DNA found in a single human cell would be approximately 2 meters (6.6 feet) in length. Now imagine having to package the DNA into a compartment within the cell, called the nucleus, that is so small it can only be visualized with the aid of a microscope. Put another way, this is e…

    Authored by on November 9, 2012

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