Have a good weekend.
Ancestry-Shift Refinement Mapping of the C6orf97-ESR1 Breast Cancer Susceptibility Locus. Many single nucelotide polymorphisms associated with a risk factor may actually not be the causal agent in a mechanistic sense. It’s just very close to and tightly associated with the real genetic cause. If the tightness of that association varies by population, then the utility of that marker varies between populations as a predictor. This is why us colored folk should be wary of risk alleles discovered in studies of European populations insofar as we apply those results to ourselves.
Will Your Children Grow Up To Be Servants And Nannies? In the period between 1800 and 1970 the wage gap between unskilled and skilled workers closed, the wage premium on education and specialized skills decreased. Since 1970 in the developed world the gap has started to grow again (see Farewell to Alms). I won’t explore in depth the long term implications of assortative mating, heritability of psychological and behavioral traits, and a genuine meritocracy which rewards skill, diligence and intelligence fairly. Think on it though if you have the brains and the knowledge base, and feel compassion unless you’re a psychopath.
Adaptive Evolution of Genes Duplicated from the Drosophila pseudoobscura neo-X Chromosome. The target of selection is more than just SNPs. The unit of selection may be more than just the individual.
Anguish of Romantic Rejection May Be Linked to Stimulation of Areas of Brain Related to Motivation, Reward and Addiction. I’ve never been addicted to a drug, have no fixation on shopping, and such. But now I guess I can imagine what that feels like, and I feel really sorry for people who are addicted in any way.
Ford Makes Money Again. But What About That Debt? I really hope Ford does well. They’re in a bind because they didn’t fail and get bailed out by the government. The world turned upside down.