Why Your DNA Is Still Uncharted Territory

Posted on September 18, 2018May 25, 2020 by Zimmer

The New York Times, September 18, 2018

You have a gene called PNMA6F. All people do, but no one knows the purpose of that gene or the protein it makes. And as it turns out, PNMA6F has a lot of company in that regard.

In a study published Tuesday in PLOS Biology, researchers at Northwestern University reported that of our 20,000 protein-coding genes, about 5,400 have never been the subject of a single dedicated paper.

Most of our other genes have been almost as badly neglected, the subjects of minor investigation at best. A tiny fraction — 2,000 of them — have hogged most of the attention, the focus of 90 percent of the scientific studies published in recent years.

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Seeking Human Generosity’s Origins in an Ape’s Gift to Another Ape

Posted on September 11, 2018May 25, 2020 by Zimmer

The New York Times, September 11, 2018

Link

How generous is an ape? It’s a hard question for scientists to tackle, but the answer could tell us a lot about ourselves.

People in every culture can be generous, whether they’re lending a cellphone to an office mate or sharing an antelope haunch with a hungry family.

While it’s easy to dwell on our capacity for war and violence, scientists see our generosity as a remarkable feature of our species. “One of the things that stands out about humans is how helpful we are,” said Christopher Krupenye, a primate behavior researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

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Scientists Are Retooling Bacteria to Cure Disease

Posted on September 4, 2018May 25, 2020 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, September 4, 2018

Link

In a study carried out over the summer, a group of volunteers drank a white, peppermint-ish concoction laced with billions of bacteria. The microbes had been engineered to break down a naturally occurring toxin in the blood.

The vast majority of us can do this without any help. But for those who cannot, these microbes may someday become a living medicine.

The trial marks an important milestone in a promising scientific field known as synthetic biology. Two decades ago, researchers started to tinker with living things the way engineers tinker with electronics.

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Friday’s Elk, August 24, 2018

Posted on August 24, 2018November 26, 2021 by Matt Kristoffersen

Her Mother Was A Neanderthal, And Her Father Was A Denisovan

A remarkable new study on a 90,000-year-old fossil fragment gives us an extraordinary look at what the world was like when a wide range of humans walked the planet. It was a real privilege to get to write up this discovery for the New York Times. You can read my story of this find here. (I’m also experimenting with responding to comments on the article.)

Elephants Fighting Cancer: Another Weapon

Along with ancient DNA, evolutionary medicine is another obsession of mine. It’s fascinating to see how scientists gain new insights about diseases and health by observing how different branches of the tree of life have adapted. Some species have evolved some remarkable defenses against cancer, for example. I’ve written previously about naked mole rats, which have strange proteins that may keep them from ever getting cancer. Elephants ought to get more cancer than they do. In 2015 I wrote about one intriguing mutation that may protect them. Now scientists have found another unique feature of the species that may allow them to kill off mutant cells more effectively than we can.

Interviews: Psychology, Heredity, and (Non-)Science Degrees

1. I had a great chat with the psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman about what heredity can tell us about psychology (and can’t).

2. Sapiens, the online anthropology magazine, has launched a podcast. I’m delighted to be a guest on their first episode, “Is Your DNA You?”

3. The Open Notebook, a great web site on science journalism, asks whether you need a science degree to do the job. My answer: I sure hope not!

Upcoming TalksSeptember 20, 2018, University of Bath (UK): Evolution in the 21st Century

October 4, 2018, 92nd Street Y, New York: “What Makes Us Human? Panel with Maria Konnikova, Nathan Lents, and Sebastian Seung.

NEW!–> October 9, 2018, New York University: “Why You’re You: Explaining Heredity to a Confused Public”

October 17, 2018, Colorado State University: Murray Honors Visiting Scholar Lecture (details to come)

October 19, 2018, Las Vegas: CSICon

October 23, 2018: Mount Holyoke College

November 7, 2018: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (details to come)

November 13, 2018, New York: House of Speakeasy

November 14, 2018: Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (details to come)

If you’ve enjoyed reading She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, please rate/review it on your favorite book site, such as Goodreads or Amazon. Thanks!

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Best wishes, Carl