The Symbiotic Gene
“I shall argue that a predominant quality to be expected in a successful gene is ruthless selfishness” (Dawkins, 1976). So wrote the evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, in Chapter One of […]
Tag Archives: epigenetics
Are Changes in the Epigenome Actually due to the Dynamic Nature of DNA?
I could be totally wrong on this one, which is cool. Happens often enough. And I won’t profess to be an expert in epigenetics, though I’m not completely ignorant of […]
Syndromic Forms of Autism: Part III
This week is the third and final entry in the series, Syndromic Forms of Autism. It covers an additional five syndromes which exhibit high association with autism. As with the […]
A Few Tidbits about Epigenetics: The Methylome
The Methylome is a new toy of genetic science. It adds yet another level of complexity “above genetics”, responsible for affecting patterns of gene expression and, relevant to my line […]
Our Latest Study: The Link between Mobile Element Content and Autism-risk Genes
“An extremely large number of genes have been associated with autism. The functions of these genes span numerous domains and prove challenging in the search for commonalities underlying the conditions. […]
Mutations on the Brain!!!
I’ve talked a lot about DNA mutations, transposons and retrotransposons, microsatellite repeat sequences in cancer and autism, and even somatic mosaicism on this blog. But I haven’t really talked about […]
A Little Cancer in All of Us
Cancer. The thought of it can be absolutely terrifying. Moreso than heart disease, stroke, or Alzheimer’s. Maybe because its diagnosis often seems so out of the blue, or because we […]
Thinking Twenty Moves Ahead – Visualizing Biological Complexity
My partner has adored chess ever since he was a child.While I’m no aficiando like he is, there’s something easy to romanticize about the game. The sheer artistry of the […]
The Antiepileptic, Valproic Acid – A Mutagen?
As a medicine, valproic acid (VPA) has a variety of uses. Not only does it serve as an antiepileptic drug, it can also be used for mood stabilization in Bipolar, […]
Move Over, Proteins – Science Says it’s an RNA World Now. But is it?
Hello, folks. Back in September, a seminal group of works were published in Nature and Science which revealed that contrary to our once-protein-centric view of genetics, the majority of gene […]
Science Over a Cuppa 
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