Genetic Literacy Project (geneticliteracyproject.org)

What HN people wrote when they linked it

AromasinMay 2019
“For example, the traditional diet of the Masai was composed almost entirely of red meat, blood, and milk – all high in Neu5Gc – yet they were free from modern inflammatory diseases. (7)”
I get why people keep trying to fall back on Price’s research into the Masai, but I’m afraid it’s misleading. The Masai actually had significant rates of atherosclerosis, they just didn’t die from it, at least not the ones that otherwise lived long enough to matter. [1] To say that article 'debunks' it is disingenuous regardless. It is simply a counter-argument in article form; part of a debate that could well be retorted by someone more intelligent than myself (I'm sure Greger could give it a good rebuttal).
I think we can all agree that the best way to reduce inflammation is simply to exercise. It's been shown time and time again. By using the Masai as an ideal, we're simply looking at healthy user bias but in reverse. Justifying meat consumption with a tribal population that often runs marathons to catch said meat is baffling to me; it is not an excuse to dismiss a vast amount of research, both observational and otherwise.
I've latched on to meat and its markers of inflammation because it's relevant to the OP topic, but if we're going down the route of history, really we should be basing diet on our genetic biomarkers. "First of all, humans have been eating red meat for literally millions of years." should really be "First of all, small populations of certain humans have been eating…
TheodoresMay 2017
Borland Turbo C - how I loved that program!
To actually learn C (not ++) I used Bjarne Stroustrup's C all the way. I think it was 150 pages of book with 10 pages of index, not exactly a heavy book, probably no larger than a 13" screen 'ultrabook' and I took it everywhere.
Back then we had attention spans longer than a goldfish, so studying a book that was so concise was the way to go, not to skim search results, copy and paste.
Before then with the BBC Micro again there were just the two manuals, the one it came with and some advanced one. The ZX81 was okay with just the manual it came with.
Computer magazines were actually how you learned new stuff, or at least saw stuff that you wanted to do, even if the reality was typing in hex-dumps.
As for attention spans:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/07/25/another-modern-myth-shrinking-attention-spans/
A Microsoft study in 2013 said the attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds, whereas we had attention spans of 12 seconds in 2000 and 8 seconds in 2013.
There is a lot of 'averages' here, however, we have changed how we expect to learn things. I have no idea whether it is 'needle, haystack' or the other way around for commands I use daily. We just remember where to find stuff on the internets rather than in our own grey matter.
tomhowardJan 2016
The report makes no mention of any inclusion of genetics or epigenetics (environmentally-influenced gene expression) in this study.
It would be a shame if that were excluded as a factor worth investigating, as research I've seen elsewhere indicates that it is [1].
The notion that the gut microbiome is a major factor in metabolism and health is now widely known and accepted, but it just raises the next question: what is the cause of variance in the health of the microbiome?
A good diet and supplementation with good microbes (probiotics, ferments, etc) is part of it, but the body itself also needs to do its part to create an environment that is fertile and hospitable for beneficial microbes, and inhospitable for harmful ones.
This requires a well-functioning immune system, correct enzyme activity, oxygenation, pH, optimal function of all the organs, to name just some of the factors in the vastly complex system that is the mammalian body.
Genetics and epigenetics play a key role in this system, and you'd hope to see this being included as a part of a study like this.
[1] https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/09/15/how-epigenetics-our-gut-microbiome-and-the-environment-interact-to-change-our-lives/
ptaipaleJul 2016
>...can you get a patent for the resulting lifeform or its individual genes? My understanding is that you can not, but if that's wrong I'd love to be corrected.
Yes, you can get a patent. There are even organisations that aspire to patent organic plant variants that obviously aren't GMO. [0]
>given that all of the GMO companies seem to be grabbing patents on their products
No, not all are. First of all, not all developers of GMO technology are even companies - they may be universities or government agencies, for instance [1]. The widespread and misguided opposition to GMO technology works to the benefit for large companies (like Monsanto), though, because they have the resources to hire enough lawyers to manage the process where it matters.
Secondly, there's nothing "grabbing" about filing for patents or equivalent IPRs for plant variants; it's what you need to do to protect your variant even when you plan to release it into public domain (so that a malicious party would not claim them).
[0] https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/08/07/challenging-myths-yes-seeds-that-grow-organic-food-are-often-patented/
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice
cmdrfredApr 2017
>Food we've grown + consumed has a multi-millennium history of being safe to consume.
Its not so simple. When you consider the significantly lower yields of organic farming[0], combined with a growing world population 71% of which lives on less than $10 a day[1] that will not be able to afford these increased food costs you are left with a question. Do you prefer to add perhaps a few years to the end of your life or do you prefer to allow a great many others to live?
Personally even if GMO and others took a decade from me (I have seen no evidence this is the case. Humans are living longer lives than ever before.) if it allows more children to eat I support it.
[0]https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2014-12-18-at-3.37.22-PM.png
[1]http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/08/news/economy/global-low-income/
vimyFeb 2022
The “environmental movement” is still fighting nuclear. Where are the lawsuits to stop nuclear plants by big oil? There aren’t any. Greenpeace on the other hand has made it their mission. The greens are responsible for the higher emissions in Germany by shutting down perfectly fine nuclear plants and replacing them with coal and gas. They are gonna do the same thing in Belgium.
They shut down the nuclear plant in New York then oppose an alternative.[1] It’s dogma.
Might be an interesting read for you: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/02/14/viewpoint-environmentalist-delusions-why-progressive-opposition-to-nuclear-energy-and-crop-biotechnology-are-the-biggest-obstacles-to-addressing-climate-change/
[1]https://twitter.com/JesseJenkins/status/1491802719878672395

What HN people wrote when they linked it

AromasinMay 2019
“For example, the traditional diet of the Masai was composed almost entirely of red meat, blood, and milk – all high in Neu5Gc – yet they were free from modern inflammatory diseases. (7)”
I get why people keep trying to fall back on Price’s research into the Masai, but I’m afraid it’s misleading. The Masai actually had significant rates of atherosclerosis, they just didn’t die from it, at least not the ones that otherwise lived long enough to matter. [1] To say that article 'debunks' it is disingenuous regardless. It is simply a counter-argument in article form; part of a debate that could well be retorted by someone more intelligent than myself (I'm sure Greger could give it a good rebuttal).
I think we can all agree that the best way to reduce inflammation is simply to exercise. It's been shown time and time again. By using the Masai as an ideal, we're simply looking at healthy user bias but in reverse. Justifying meat consumption with a tribal population that often runs marathons to catch said meat is baffling to me; it is not an excuse to dismiss a vast amount of research, both observational and otherwise.
I've latched on to meat and its markers of inflammation because it's relevant to the OP topic, but if we're going down the route of history, really we should be basing diet on our genetic biomarkers. "First of all, humans have been eating red meat for literally millions of years." should really be "First of all, small populations of certain humans have been eating…
TheodoresMay 2017
Borland Turbo C - how I loved that program!
To actually learn C (not ++) I used Bjarne Stroustrup's C all the way. I think it was 150 pages of book with 10 pages of index, not exactly a heavy book, probably no larger than a 13" screen 'ultrabook' and I took it everywhere.
Back then we had attention spans longer than a goldfish, so studying a book that was so concise was the way to go, not to skim search results, copy and paste.
Before then with the BBC Micro again there were just the two manuals, the one it came with and some advanced one. The ZX81 was okay with just the manual it came with.
Computer magazines were actually how you learned new stuff, or at least saw stuff that you wanted to do, even if the reality was typing in hex-dumps.
As for attention spans:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/07/25/another-modern-myth-shrinking-attention-spans/
A Microsoft study in 2013 said the attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds, whereas we had attention spans of 12 seconds in 2000 and 8 seconds in 2013.
There is a lot of 'averages' here, however, we have changed how we expect to learn things. I have no idea whether it is 'needle, haystack' or the other way around for commands I use daily. We just remember where to find stuff on the internets rather than in our own grey matter.
tomhowardJan 2016
The report makes no mention of any inclusion of genetics or epigenetics (environmentally-influenced gene expression) in this study.
It would be a shame if that were excluded as a factor worth investigating, as research I've seen elsewhere indicates that it is [1].
The notion that the gut microbiome is a major factor in metabolism and health is now widely known and accepted, but it just raises the next question: what is the cause of variance in the health of the microbiome?
A good diet and supplementation with good microbes (probiotics, ferments, etc) is part of it, but the body itself also needs to do its part to create an environment that is fertile and hospitable for beneficial microbes, and inhospitable for harmful ones.
This requires a well-functioning immune system, correct enzyme activity, oxygenation, pH, optimal function of all the organs, to name just some of the factors in the vastly complex system that is the mammalian body.
Genetics and epigenetics play a key role in this system, and you'd hope to see this being included as a part of a study like this.
[1] https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/09/15/how-epigenetics-our-gut-microbiome-and-the-environment-interact-to-change-our-lives/
ptaipaleJul 2016
>...can you get a patent for the resulting lifeform or its individual genes? My understanding is that you can not, but if that's wrong I'd love to be corrected.
Yes, you can get a patent. There are even organisations that aspire to patent organic plant variants that obviously aren't GMO. [0]
>given that all of the GMO companies seem to be grabbing patents on their products
No, not all are. First of all, not all developers of GMO technology are even companies - they may be universities or government agencies, for instance [1]. The widespread and misguided opposition to GMO technology works to the benefit for large companies (like Monsanto), though, because they have the resources to hire enough lawyers to manage the process where it matters.
Secondly, there's nothing "grabbing" about filing for patents or equivalent IPRs for plant variants; it's what you need to do to protect your variant even when you plan to release it into public domain (so that a malicious party would not claim them).
[0] https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/08/07/challenging-myths-yes-seeds-that-grow-organic-food-are-often-patented/
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice
cmdrfredApr 2017
>Food we've grown + consumed has a multi-millennium history of being safe to consume.
Its not so simple. When you consider the significantly lower yields of organic farming[0], combined with a growing world population 71% of which lives on less than $10 a day[1] that will not be able to afford these increased food costs you are left with a question. Do you prefer to add perhaps a few years to the end of your life or do you prefer to allow a great many others to live?
Personally even if GMO and others took a decade from me (I have seen no evidence this is the case. Humans are living longer lives than ever before.) if it allows more children to eat I support it.
[0]https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2014-12-18-at-3.37.22-PM.png
[1]http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/08/news/economy/global-low-income/
vimyFeb 2022
The “environmental movement” is still fighting nuclear. Where are the lawsuits to stop nuclear plants by big oil? There aren’t any. Greenpeace on the other hand has made it their mission. The greens are responsible for the higher emissions in Germany by shutting down perfectly fine nuclear plants and replacing them with coal and gas. They are gonna do the same thing in Belgium.
They shut down the nuclear plant in New York then oppose an alternative.[1] It’s dogma.
Might be an interesting read for you: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/02/14/viewpoint-environmentalist-delusions-why-progressive-opposition-to-nuclear-energy-and-crop-biotechnology-are-the-biggest-obstacles-to-addressing-climate-change/
[1]https://twitter.com/JesseJenkins/status/1491802719878672395

Genetic Literacy Project

Top posts on HN

What HN people wrote when they linked it

Genetic Literacy Project

Top posts on HN

What HN people wrote when they linked it

Top posts on HN

What HN people wrote when they linked it

Related

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Top posts on HN

What HN people wrote when they linked it

Related

Why haven't we cured cancer yet?

“We have no reason to believe 5G is safe”

Finland’s Green Party endorses nuclear power

A Square Meal – Foods of the ‘20s and ‘30s

Dopamine, Smartphones and You: A battle for your time

Why Prioritize SENS Research for Human Longevity?

Tomato fruits send electrical warnings to the rest of the plant when attacked

FDA Authorizes Ten 23andme Genetic Health Risk Reports