genomics
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Tag archives for genomics
20,000 genes a surprise? Heck, this guy knew that long ago
Posted by David Dobbs on June 21, 2010 John Hawks, in his paleodreams. I mean that in the best way. John Hawks bumps into a prescient estimate of the total gene number in humans: While doing some other research, I ran across a remarkable short paper by James Spuhler, “On the number of genes in man,” printed in Science in 1948. We’ve been…
“A nerve ending in a cotton sundress”
Posted by David Dobbs on May 26, 2010 Selling a work fiction is difficult; publishing in Nature is a long-shot; yet somehow writer and genomeboy Misha Angrist managed to publish fiction in Nature. The only way I was ever going to get a first-author publication in Nature [Angrist explains] was if I just made it all up. So that’s what I did. Hat tip to David Dobbs…
Genes & temperament; future of twitter etc; & how to sell that book
Posted by David Dobbs on April 19, 2010 A few calendar notes: I’ve got a three-day run starting next Sunday in which I’ll be talking to authors and journalists about book proposals; NY science writers about the future of social media; and to genomic geeks about genes and temperament. If you’ve questions you’d like raised at any of these, please shoot me a…
Your genetic info — not free, easy, or clear
Posted by David Dobbs on April 1, 2010 After I wrote in my Atlantic article about getting my serotonin transporter gene assayed (which revealed that I carry that gene’s apparently more plastic short-short form), I started getting a lot of email — several a week — from readers asking how to have their SERT gene tested. This led to an interesting hunt. It…
The Week’s Best: Evolution, healthcare reform, clever apes, and Cheever in his undies
Posted by David Dobbs on March 26, 2010 from a different Daily Dish – 365 petri dishes, by Klari Reis House of Wisdom, the splendid new blog on Arabic science from Mohammed Yahia, editor of Nature Middle East describes an effort to map the Red Sea’s coral reefs with satellite, aerial, adn ship-based technologies. Nice project and a promising new blog. Brain and…
Choosing not to use genetic testing is an option. Ignorance isn’t.
Posted by David Dobbs on March 23, 2010 Daniel McArthur and Daniel Vorhaus have a beef: Earlier this month, the Sunday Times published an op-ed piece by Camilla Long critiquing the practice and business of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing (“When DNA means do not ask”). It is Long’s right, of course, to express her opinions, but the article is peppered with factual inaccuracies…