08.10.07
Posted in General Genetics and Health, Genetics Blogging, Genetic Testing, Genetics and the Law, Genetic Ingenuity, Genetically Modified Food, Genetic Engineering, Genetic Future at 7:32 am by Luis
The recent Tour de France drug violations show further evidence that sport is rife with illegal drug taking to enhance performance and achieve that ‘extra mile’. There are mega bucks at stake alongside the dream of become a World and Olympic champion. I imagine that if you’ve invested your entire life to your chosen sport the lure of taking banned performance enhancing drugs to help you achieve your dreams is with you night and day.
The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, Canada is charged with monitoring the conduct of athletes. It is working with investigators around the globe to develop a test that would ’out’ competitors for injecting themselves with genetic material capable of enhancing body mass or performance. At present there are no tests to check if an athlete has injected his/herself with DNA or genetically modified naturally occurring body materials eg red blood cells.
The shadier groups in sports appear to be taking an interest in gene doping. Several potential targets of gene doping have emerged, including the gene for erythropoietin, or EPO. A bio-engineered version of the hormone is currently available on the market. It increases red blood cell production in patients with anemia and boosts oxygen delivery to the body. In athletes, this means boosts to stamina and therefore, by definition, a competitive edge.
However the development of gene based doping is not without its dangers - allergic reactions, body rejections, over-production of blood cells/muscle/hormones, DNA mutations are all potential side-effects of taking these substances. If any of these events happen it could be career-wrecking to the sportsman/woman.
There is an interesting press release just out from University of Florida who have a US-French research team looking at ways to detect evidence of ‘doped’ DNA. There is a long way to go as how do you tell the difference between normal cells and genetically modified cells? Tricky to do for genetically modified crops, right now.
I’m sure the first of the gene doping tests will come onto the market over the next few years, but for me there is no place in this world for cheating … but I’ve never dedicated my life to one sport, so who am I to give judgement?
For further information go to:
http://news.ufl.edu/2007/08/06/doping Media contact: Ann Griswold
Penny
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08.09.07
Posted in General Genetics and Health, Genetics of Disease, Genetic Ingenuity, Genetic Future at 12:21 pm by Luis
Hi everyone! It’s good to be back again at Genetics and Health. One of my kids had to have an op and I’ve been hand holding ever since - not to mention sleeping on a hospital z bed… mmm! Still, the op was a total success so I’m happy.
Sifting through the mountains of genetics press releases and email updates I get on a daily basis from my work in the field of medical genetics, I note that the age old question of nature or nurture is back in the news. I’ve always been fascinated by this subject … is it our genes that dictate the way we behave or is it the environment we’re brought up in?
I suspect, like a great many, that both play a role. You only have to look at breast cancer research. There are the BRCA genes which if you have these mutations give you an 80% chance of developing breast cancer during your life (ie very high).
Then there are the SNPs, parts of genes which if faulty can increase our risk of developing breast cancer. If our lifestyles are not that healthy - too little exercise, too much fat, not enough fruit and veg etc. etc then we’re at far greater risk of tipping ourselves over into developing breast cancer.
An interesting article by researchers at The Virginia Commonwealth University suggests that the company we keep may be increasingly influenced by our genes. Kenneth S Kendler MD, a professor of psychiatry and human genetics in VCU’s School of Medicine says ’As we grow and move out of our own home environment, our genetically influenced temperament becomes more and more important in influencing the kinds of friends we like to hang out with’.
I can sympathize with these findings to a certain extent but I do feel that once we’ve flown the nest life and make our way out in the big bad world, life gets daunting so we fall back on our ‘comfort zones’ which tends to be the way we were brought up by our parents.
I class that as environment/nurture and not nature!
Source: http://www.vcu.edu
Penny
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:08 am by Luis
Viagra became a worldwide sensation very quickly as both a product people wanted and also as a cultural reference. We see references to the little blue pill in popular movies and on prime time TV series. Heck, 1996 republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, a 74-year old man, talked about this drug on national TV.
If you want to want to buy viagra, you’re US insuarnce may have you covered. Pretty remarkable considering how many things are not covered. Feminists (many people but feminists have been most vocal) are enraged that many products women need (such as birth control) are usually not covered when Viagra often is.
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08.08.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:05 pm by Luis
On August 7, 2007, Amy Goodman, on Democracy Now, played a speech given by John Pilger, an Australian documentary film maker and journalist given at the Socialism Conference, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois a couple of weeks ago. Mr. Pilger talks about the role of the media in supporting the American government's quest for Empire. It is an excellent talk and I believe every American should listen to it. You can access the speech by clicking on the link below.
Link: Democracy Now! | Freedom Next Time: Filmmaker & Journalist John Pilger on Propaganda, the Press, Censorship and Resisting the American Empire.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9:05 pm by Luis
We live in a world where, because of the 24 hrs. per day news, celebrity has become the new entertainment. Our young people all want to be seen. They want to be celebrities, to have their moments of fame and adulation, to be in the spot light. This desire for celebrity is an indication of our spiritual poverty. People don't believe they are real unless they are seen and receive attention.
In the spiritual life, a person seeks invisibility. Invisibility provides protection and freedom. If we are not seen we are not interferred with. We do not become the object of scorn, jealousy, and competition nor the object of false hopes, dreams, and aspirations of others. There may come times when a spiritual person comes into the light and is seen by others but it is not done for self-aggrandisement but rather for the welfare and benefit of others. If attacked, the spiritual person enacts his/her warrior role and defends his/her position with their utmost and having triumphed slips back into invisibility again.
On the earth plane there is the seen and unseen. More things get done that are unseen. Freedom and space to live the spiritual life is more available if one stays invisible. Celebrity status feeds the ego but destroys the spirit.
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