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Homosexual behavior due to genetics and environmental factors

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:30:33 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: “Overall, genetics accounted for around 35 per cent of the differences between men in homosexual behavior and other individual-specific environmental factors (that is, not societal attitudes, family or parenting which are shared by twins) accounted for around 64 per cent. In other words, men become gay or straight because of different developmental pathways, not just one pathway.”

For women, genetics explained roughly 18 per cent of the variation in same-sex behavior, non-shared environment roughly 64 per cent and shared factors, or the family environment, explained 16 per cent.

The study shows that genetic influences are important but modest, and that non-shared environmental factors, which may include factors operating during fetal development, dominate.

Clip Source: www.thinkgene.com

Homosexual behavior is largely shaped by genetics and random environmental factors, according to findings from the world’s largest study of twins.

Writing in the scientific journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm report that genetics and environmental factors (which are specific to an individual, and may include biological processes such as different hormone exposure in the womb), are important determinants of homosexual behavior.

This study puts cold water on any concerns that we are looking for a single ‘gay gene’ or a single environmental variable which could be used to ’select out’ homosexuality - the factors which influence sexual orientation are complex.

Studies of identical twins and non-identical, or fraternal, twins are often used to untangle the genetic and environmental factors responsible for a trait.

Tags: behavior, sexual behavior, genetics, environmental factors

Watermelon May Have Viagra-effect

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:11:55 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and the rising star among its phyto-nutrients – citrulline – whose beneficial functions are now being unraveled. Among them is the ability to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does.
Scientists know that when watermelon is consumed, citrulline is converted to arginine through certain enzymes. Arginine is an amino acid that works wonders on the heart and circulation system and maintains a good immune system, Patil said.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine’s Day. That’s because scientists say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels and may even increase libido.

“The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station.

“We’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.”

Beneficial ingredients in watermelon and other fruits and vegetables are known as phyto-nutrients, naturally occurring compounds that are bioactive, or able to react with the human body to trigger healthy reactions, Patil said.

Tags: watermelon, fruit, health, viagra

Abu Ghraib Detainees Sue USA Contractors

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:12:14 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: How Much for these Photos? How Many More?

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Former Abu Ghraib detainees sue US contractors

Clip Source: asapblogs.typepad.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Four men formerly held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq today filed lawsuits against US private security firms CACI and L-3, accusing the companies of torture and war crimes.

Clip Source: www.antiwar.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The lawsuits, filed in the US states of Washington, Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio, allege that the four detainees were subjected to frequent beatings, caging, electric shocks, and threatened with dogs.

One of the plaintiffs, a 36-year-old shopkeeper named Sa'adoon Ali Hameed Al-Ogaidi, claims he was a "ghost detainee" hidden from the Red Cross during his year at Abu Ghraib, the site of a now-infamous prisoner abuse scandal in 2003.

Clip Source: msnbcmedia1.msn.com

Clip Source: bb.cf.huffingtonpost.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

"Private military contractors and the individuals they employ cannot act with impunity," Katherine Gallagher, an attorney assisting the men through the non-profit Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said.

Clip Source: www.antiwar.com

Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski

meets with Donald Rumsfeld.

"60 Minutes" Logo Copyright CBS News: Reprinted for Fair Use

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

June 30, 2008

Monday

Tags: abughraib, detainees, court, usa, contractors

Vintage Ladies

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:26:05 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.art-e-zine.co.uk

The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:25:30 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.linkinn.com

Clip Source: www.thedeepbook.org

The Deep
The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
By Claire Nouvian

Tags: fish, sea

Gene Editing Could Make Anyone Immune to AIDS

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:31:20 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Some people have a mutation that makes them amazingly resistant to HIV -- and now, scientists may have found a way to give that immunity to anyone.

Viruses enter cells and take them over, but to get inside, they need a handhold. HIV pulls itself in by grabbing onto a protein called CCR5, which decorates the surface of T-cells, which are one of the two major types of white blood cells and play an important role in helping the body fight infections. Back in the 1990's, researchers took interest in a handful of promiscuous gay men who were able to engage in sexual relations with their HIV-positive partners with impunity. Most of them had a mutation that kept their cells from producing normal CCR5 protein.

Armed with that knowledge, scientists have developed several tactics to block the production of CCR5 or perturb its shape so that the HIV virus can't grab onto it during the first step of its hijacking attempt

Tags: dna, hiv, immunity, viruses

Homage to the enema

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:02:00 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk.

The bronze syringe bulb, which weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels, was unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa, the spa's director said Thursday.

"There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region."

In related news, the head of the Zheleznovodsk Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau committed suicide today…

“What is Life?” Evolution of Robots is Causing Scientists to Question

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:04:36 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: “Robots are not human, but humans aren’t the only things that have emotions,” she said. “The question for robots is not, Will they ever have human emotions? Dogs don’t have human emotions, either, but we all agree they have genuine emotions. The question is, what are the emotions that are genuine for the robot?”

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

There is ongoing debate about what constitutes life. Synthetic bacteria for example, are created by man and yet also alive. Some go so far as to say that robot “emotions” may already have occurred—that current robots have not only displayed emotions, but in some ways have experienced them.

“We’re all machines,” says Rodney Brooks author of “Flesh and Machines,” and former director of M.I.T.’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, “Robots are made of different sorts of components than we are — we are made of biomaterials; they are silicon and steel — but in principle, even human emotions are mechanistic.” A robot’s level of a feeling like sadness could be set as a number in computer code, he said. But isn’t a human’s level of sadness basically a number, too, just a number of the amounts of various neurochemicals circulating in the brain? Why should a robot’s numbers be any less authentic than a human’s?

Tags: robotics, intelligence, life

Red wine may mitigate red meat’s dangers

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:15:55 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.world-science.net

What happens when red wine meets red meat? If that happens in the stomach, wine’s healthful chemicals may thwart formation of harmful substances released during digestion of fat in the meat, scientists report.

Researchers attribute the documented benefits of moderate wine consumption—including protection against cancer and heart disease—to its high levels of polyphenols, compounds also found in fruits and vegetables.

Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants, substances that suppress destructive chemical reactions promoted by oxygen.

But the body doesn’t absorb polyphenols easily; scientists have puzzled over how and where they exert their benefits.

The stomach acts as a “bioreactor” that facilitates the beneficial effects, the researchers wrote. The polyphenols work not only to prevent generation of toxic compounds, but also to inhibit their entry to the blood stream, they added.

Tags: red wine, red meat