Exclusive licenses to gene patents are supposed to spur development of new technologies for gauging disease risk but actually do more to block competition in the gene testing market, say researchers from the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy (IGSP).

As single-gene tests give way to multi-gene or even whole-genome scans, exclusive patent rights could slow promising new technologies and business models for genetic testing even further, the Duke researchers say.

The findings emerge from a series of case studies that examined genetic risk testing for 10 clinical conditions, including breast and colon cancer, cystic fibrosis, and hearing loss. The studies appear April 14 in a special issue of Genetics in Medicine.

The Animal That Amplifies Itself


Amplify: to make a thing bigger or more powerful.


The characteristic that most distinguishes humans from our animal cousins is not the use of tools.  Nor is it the use of language.  Many animals use twigs or stones as tools.  Many animals have the ability to communicate alarm, distress, food sources and other matters.

The only thing, I suggest, that clearly separates humans from all other living things is that we are the only species which can amplify its behaviors.  Whatever biological faculty we wish to use we have a machine to amplify that faculty.  We invented machines to enhance our chances of survival.

Brain damage at birth is a horrible thing to happen to a baby.  Brain cells are very vulnerable to hypoxic / ischemic damage (the latter term referring to restricted blood supply), which makes birth a dangerous time.  Therefore, it was cheering to read a BBC news item

First baby given xenon gas to prevent brain injury

which led me to the Bristol University press release First newborn receives xenon gas in bid to prevent brain injury which begins

Communicating with the dead is a standard job requirement for a psychic such as the infamous medium John Edward of the television show Crossing Over who claims to be able to listen to what the deceased family members of his studio audience have to say.  Hearing the thoughts of the dead would appear to be one superpower we certainly do not possess. Surely this superpower must remain firmly in the realm of fiction (Edward included). However, a little thought reveals that we in fact do this all the time. …by simply reading.

A while ago, I read an argument that understanding economics is more important than understanding evolution. The author's point is that evolutionary theory does not provide the layman with particularly useful information, whereas economic theory has many applications, particularly in public policy. Therefore, as concerned citizens interested in promoting good public policy, we should give priority to learning about and discussing economic theory.

Could you successfully launch a high precision functioning space satellite that was made out of wood? Instead of speculating, I asked.  In my 365DOA Podcast I called up Randa Milliron, the CEO of InterOrbital.com, aka the TubeSat people.  Not only was she not scared away by the idea, but we got into a lively discussion on Steampunk in Space.

University of Delaware psychologists say that jealously may literally impair vision.

In a recent study published in Emotion, the researchers found that women who were made to feel jealous were so distracted by unpleasant emotional images they became unable to spot targets they were trying to find.

It has long been known that the emotions involved in social relationships affect mental and physical health, but these results extend the relationship a step further, to the point that emotions affect what we see.

Just ten years ago, researchers assumed that countries needed the freedoms of democracy to cross the digital divide, but a new study in Sociological Inquiry suggests that countries don't necessarily need democracy to join the online community. Rather, social factors such as population growth and violent conflict are much more important -- and capitalism trumps them all.

China, a pro-capitalist autocracy, has since joined the Internet by virtue of being an economic powerhouse. While the country struggles to restrict citizens' access to information from the rest of the world, China has succeeded in making the Internet part of its economy.

Slender women worry about packing on extra weight, say Brigham Young University researchers who used MRI technology to observe what happened in the brain when people viewed images of complete strangers.

If the stranger happened to be overweight and female, it surprisingly activated an area in women's brains that processes identity and self-reflection. Men did not show signs of any self-reflection in similar situations.

"These women have no history of eating disorders and project an attitude that they don't care about body image," said Mark Allen, a BYU neuroscientist. "Yet under the surface is an anxiety about getting fat and the centrality of body image to self."

The results appear in Personality and Individual Differences.

Researchers from North Carolina State University are making an attempt to help academia lose its "ivory tower" reputation by connecting students to their local communities.

The new research project lays out guidelines that can be used to develop and implement partnerships between academics and local communities to foster research efforts that address social problems.