Double X Science - It's In Your Genes

Search Results for: label/replacement rate

  • DXS Op-Ed: How birth control can save the world

    …over the last 50 years, reaching 7 the billion mark in March of this year.  This is an astounding statistic since it took until 1804 – around 50,000 years – to reach our first billion.  World Population: 1800 – 2100 (Wikimedia Commons) What makes these numbers really scary is the concept of carrying capacity, which is an ecological term used to describe the maximum number of individual members of a species that a certain habita…

    Authored by on May 2, 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

  • Women know something you don’t

    Make no mistake about it. by Emily Willingham Three of my four grandparents were only children. Born early in the 20th century, in the period betwixt the great wars, coming of age in the Great Depression. Only children, in spite of having parents married for decades. Three of them. In all likelihood, their own parents, my great-grandparents–and I knew all of my great-grandmothers–consciously chose not to have more children because,…

    Authored by on March 26, 2013

  • Selling the flu shot

    …t decade reveals a few bright spots. For most age groups, vaccination rates have been gradually ticking up over the past two decades, or at least holding steady. According to the National Health Interview Survey from the year 2000, approximately 17% of adults age 18–49 received a flu shot. That value had increased to 29% for the 2011–2012 season. Although this isn’t exactly a stellar improvement, a more promising picture emerges when lookin…

    Authored by on May 2, 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

  • Pertussis: Get the vax or at least listen to why you should

    …ook away their right to choose whether their children get vaccinated, it actually just ensures they get good medical information before they make that choice. Photo by Dave Gostisha at sxc.hu. The bill-now-law, AB 2109, proposed by a pediatrician, requires parents to get a statement signed by a health care practitioner that the parents/guardians have received accurate, evidence-based information about the risks and benefits of vaccine…

    Authored by on October 10, 2012

  • Why do we feel music?

    …dmill. References [1] Marin MM, Bhattacharya J.  ”Music induced emotions: Some current issues and crossmodal comparisons.”  In Music Education, edited by J. Hermida, M. Ferrero,  pp. 1-38, Nova Science Publishers. 2010 [2] Krumhansl CL. “An exploratory study of musical emotions and psychophysiology,” Can J Exp Psychol (1997): 336-53. [PDF] [3]  ”Physiological Changes Associated with Emotion,” in Neuroscience, e…

    Authored by on February 26, 2013

  • Of pacifiers and breastfeeding

    …hospital instituted a new policy that corresponds to one of the ten steps to becoming a Baby Friendly hospital. Baby Friendly hospitals receive this designation for their pro-breastfeeding practices and policies. In December 2010, the hospital stopped routinely distributing pacifiers. They were not restricted completely – parents could bring them from home – but they were not passed out by hospital staff. At the same time, formula was discourage…

    Authored by on June 3, 2013

  • Excerpts from Sophie’s Diary: A Mathematical Novel

    …t’s diary to discuss how Germain may have taught herself math while dealing with the social upheaval of the French Revolution, which occurred at this time in her life. Read on for an engaging lesson in math. Monday | January 2, 1792 I begin the new year with more determination and a renewed resolve to study prime numbers. One of my goals is to acquire the necessary mathematical background to prove theorems. Prime numbers are exquisite. The…

    Authored by on May 23, 2012

  • He found out he has ovaries*

    …dition is Turner Syndrome. The man in this case report has Turner, which can result in features such as short stature and incomplete ovarian development, along with some health issues. Turner Syndrome is present in about 1 in 2500 live female births. Adrenal glands: They’re small, but they’re very, very important. Image, public domain, US Govt. In addition to being XO, though, he has another condition: congenital adrenal hyperplasia….

    Authored by on June 6, 2013

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