Jul 21
You’ve probably heard of the placebo effect. It’s when scientists prescribe a sugar pill and that sugar pill works just as well as the real one. The reason for this has been pretty mysterious to say the least. But now researchers at UCLA have presented the first genetic explanation for why placebos sometimes work. The …
Dec 22
S. Alexandra Burt, a MSU behavioural geneticist, has found what appears to be a link between popularity and genes. Her research shows that male college students who have a particular serotonin gene linked with rule breaking, were ranked the most popular by students who didn’t previously know them. Burt says: “The idea is that your …
Nov 21
Though it’s been discussed for some time, it’s actually starting to look like scientists might be able to resurrect the long extinct woolly mammoth through the magic of DNA. For a measly ten million dollars, no less. I hope they do. I really want to eat one. And this isn’t just the part of me …
Sep 16
To support its upcoming “Global Trends 2025″ The National Intelligence Center is funding a report by SRI Consulting to identify the most disruptive, upcoming civil or dual use technologies of the next 15 years. A preview of this report is available here as text and here as a 48 page PDF. This is the report …
Jan 20
A scientist has cloned himself. We should have seen this coming. Not that someone would have cloned themselves — everyone saw that coming – but that we had nothing to fear from an army of superhuman, ultra clones; that there was never a threat of a laboratory-created master race. The threat is that we’ll create …
Jan 10
Offering their own take on professionally snapped nudie pics, deCODE genetics is offering a map of your genome for about a thousand dollars. I’d say it’s a deal but it’s not. Considering that they may use it — with your permission, of course — for research, it seems that they should be paying you. Why …
Jan 04
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is preparing a social statement about genetics, Christianity and biotech that will be ready by 2011. Having read some – but certainly not all — of their 68 page booklet “Genetics! Where Do We Stand as Christians“, I’m impressed by the sober tone. Instead of passing dogma down, they’re …
Dec 13
South Korean scientists have cloned cats and, as a side effect, these animals glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Glowing animals are nothing new to Asia. Last year scientists in Taiwan bred glow in the dark pigs. Besides the work being done on that continent, there’s also been glowing mice and rabbits. Probably some others …
Dec 07
I’ve always been a night owl and I’m beginning to think that, no matter my wishes, I always will be. I’d love to be a virtuous morning lark — the world must be easier if you’re awake during the day– but I can’t seem to alter my sleep schedule. I’ve been trying and failing for …
Dec 05
We may be waiting a while for this but Frog Design wants to make Dattoos. “The idea of DNA tattoos (Dattoos) is to use the body itself as hardware and interaction platform, through the use of minimally-invasive, recyclable materials.” Basically, your tattoo is your computer. How is that accomplished? Magic. DNA and genetic engineering is …
