Re: [political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
The difference being, of course, that the Wright Brothers early work got off the ground. But if youre eagerly awaiting the imminent arrival of Jurassic Park, be my guest--but make sure you stay in at night! Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've got a feeling that you're not going to be a mover and shaker on the cutting edge of genetic research and genetic engineering. This is like pooh-poohing the field of aeronautical engineering as having little potential just after the Wright Brothers' early flights. This is a field of endeavor that is just getting started and which, in combination with artificial intelligence, has unlimited possibilities for speeding up the evolutionary curve and generating entirely new life forms. tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually its kinda been dead in the water once the hoopla over the human genome sequencing passed and scientists got down to nuts and bolts. Anyway, we can already program life forms with the same skill that we now create computer programs, and in fact have done it for quite a while. It's called basic training. http://www.goarmy.com/life/basic/index.jsp Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Behavioral genetics is yesterday's flash in the pan rock star? I doubt it. There is a huge momentum in this field that will carry it forward for decades and centuries to come. It is possible that we will learn how to program life forms with the same skill that we now create computer programs. In fact, all life forms may essentially be tweakable computer programs. There is tremendous excitement about this field at elite universities and research centers all around the world -- many of the best minds are attracted to it. tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There's nothing wrong with the article, any more than there is nothing wrong with an article with an article from 2002 promoting a new rock group that's being touted as the next supergroup, but which winds out disappearing from public view within a few years. Same with the attempts by Hamer discussed in the APA article--it just never panned out, an in fact has hit a brick wall, although silly press hype about Hamer's work at the time (Gay gene found!!) were not really Hamer's fault. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ok -- what's wrong with this particular article? tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, I very much consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe, at least scientifically speaking. I'm not a science worshipper, and find plenty problematic with Big Science, but no one in the scientific community would consider the APA terribly relevant to scientific concerns or research, except maybe wonks in Big Pharma, to the extent that the APA can help them push Prozac. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific
[political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
[Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific neural mechanisms. And although researchers still debate exactly how to define personality, they have identified certain core personality dimensions that are consistent across cultures, including novelty-seeking, neuroticism and agreeableness. Intriguing to people has been research in animals and humans that links certain neurotransmitters with some of these dimensions or traits. For example, many studies have found a connection between high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and behaviors related to novelty-seeking. That gives researchers a place to start looking--genes related to dopamine--among the nearly 50,000 in the human genome. To date, there are only two real candidate genes that anyone speaks of with any confidence. The first potential link is between some behaviors related to the Big-Five trait novelty-seeking and a gene that produces the protein responsible for creating a dopamine receptor called DRD4. While some studies have failed to replicate this connection, others have identified a link between the DRD4 gene and other traits linked to novelty-seeking, such as drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The indication is that this gene--or perhaps some other gene related to it--may influence all these interrelated characteristics. The second candidate--linked to the Big Five trait neuroticism--is commonly called the Prozac gene because it produces a protein related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Also known as the serotonin transporter gene or 5-HTTLPR, it has the strongest evidence linking it to neuroticism and other anxiety-related traits, such as harm avoidance. Even so, the gene appears to account for only about 1 to 2 percent of the variance for these traits, says National Cancer Institute molecular biologist Dean Hamer, PhD, one of the first scientists to search for personality genes. If that's as good as it gets, he says, everything else is likely worse. That means perhaps hundreds of genes influence each of our personality traits ever so slightly. In fact, the work is so difficult from a molecular biology point of view, Hamer is all but abandoning it. After 10 years or so, it's quite clear to me that at least for most traits there are a very large number of genes involved, he says. The only area he'll continue working on is sexual orientation. There he feels there's a better chance of finding just a few key genes. Blurring lines between 'normal' and pathological The difficulty of the work isn't stopping others who anticipate the promise of a greater understanding of personality as well as psychopathology. Already, research has begun to blur the traditional line delineating personality and psychopathology as separate entities. For example, over the past decade, studies have established a connection between high scores on the standard personality trait of neuroticism and major depression. In fact, high neuroticism scores can predict whether someone will develop major depression, says Kenneth Kendler, MD, director of the
Re: [political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
Actually, I very much consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe, at least scientifically speaking. I'm not a science worshipper, and find plenty problematic with Big Science, but no one in the scientific community would consider the APA terribly relevant to scientific concerns or research, except maybe wonks in Big Pharma, to the extent that the APA can help them push Prozac. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific neural mechanisms. And although researchers still debate exactly how to define personality, they have identified certain core personality dimensions that are consistent across cultures, including novelty-seeking, neuroticism and agreeableness. Intriguing to people has been research in animals and humans that links certain neurotransmitters with some of these dimensions or traits. For example, many studies have found a connection between high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and behaviors related to novelty-seeking. That gives researchers a place to start looking--genes related to dopamine--among the nearly 50,000 in the human genome. To date, there are only two real candidate genes that anyone speaks of with any confidence. The first potential link is between some behaviors related to the Big-Five trait novelty-seeking and a gene that produces the protein responsible for creating a dopamine receptor called DRD4. While some studies have failed to replicate this connection, others have identified a link between the DRD4 gene and other traits linked to novelty-seeking, such as drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The indication is that this gene--or perhaps some other gene related to it--may influence all these interrelated characteristics. The second candidate--linked to the Big Five trait neuroticism--is commonly called the Prozac gene because it produces a protein related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Also known as the serotonin transporter gene or 5-HTTLPR, it has the strongest evidence linking it to neuroticism and other anxiety-related traits, such as harm avoidance. Even so, the gene appears to account for only about 1 to 2 percent of the variance for these traits, says National Cancer Institute molecular biologist Dean Hamer, PhD, one of the first scientists to search for personality genes. If that's as good as it gets, he says, everything else is likely worse. That means perhaps hundreds of genes influence each of our personality traits ever so slightly. In fact, the work is so difficult from a molecular biology point of view, Hamer is all but abandoning it. After 10 years or so, it's quite clear to me that at least for most traits there are a very large number of genes involved, he says. The only area he'll continue working on is sexual orientation. There he feels there's a better chance of finding just a few key genes. Blurring lines between 'normal' and pathological The difficulty of the work isn't stopping others who anticipate the promise of a greater
Re: [political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
Ok -- what's wrong with this particular article? tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, I very much consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe, at least scientifically speaking. I'm not a science worshipper, and find plenty problematic with Big Science, but no one in the scientific community would consider the APA terribly relevant to scientific concerns or research, except maybe wonks in Big Pharma, to the extent that the APA can help them push Prozac. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific neural mechanisms. And although researchers still debate exactly how to define personality, they have identified certain core personality dimensions that are consistent across cultures, including novelty-seeking, neuroticism and agreeableness. Intriguing to people has been research in animals and humans that links certain neurotransmitters with some of these dimensions or traits. For example, many studies have found a connection between high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and behaviors related to novelty-seeking. That gives researchers a place to start looking--genes related to dopamine--among the nearly 50,000 in the human genome. To date, there are only two real candidate genes that anyone speaks of with any confidence. The first potential link is between some behaviors related to the Big-Five trait novelty-seeking and a gene that produces the protein responsible for creating a dopamine receptor called DRD4. While some studies have failed to replicate this connection, others have identified a link between the DRD4 gene and other traits linked to novelty-seeking, such as drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The indication is that this gene--or perhaps some other gene related to it--may influence all these interrelated characteristics. The second candidate--linked to the Big Five trait neuroticism--is commonly called the Prozac gene because it produces a protein related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Also known as the serotonin transporter gene or 5-HTTLPR, it has the strongest evidence linking it to neuroticism and other anxiety-related traits, such as harm avoidance. Even so, the gene appears to account for only about 1 to 2 percent of the variance for these traits, says National Cancer Institute molecular biologist Dean Hamer, PhD, one of the first scientists to search for personality genes. If that's as good as it gets, he says, everything else is likely worse. That means perhaps hundreds of genes influence each of our personality traits ever so slightly. In fact, the work is so difficult from a molecular biology point of view, Hamer is all but abandoning it. After 10 years or so, it's quite clear to me that at least for most traits there are a very large number of genes involved, he says. The only area he'll continue working on is sexual orientation. There he feels there's a better chance of finding just a few key genes. Blurring lines between
Re: [political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
There's nothing wrong with the article, any more than there is nothing wrong with an article with an article from 2002 promoting a new rock group that's being touted as the next supergroup, but which winds out disappearing from public view within a few years. Same with the attempts by Hamer discussed in the APA article--it just never panned out, an in fact has hit a brick wall, although silly press hype about Hamer's work at the time (Gay gene found!!) were not really Hamer's fault. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ok -- what's wrong with this particular article? tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, I very much consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe, at least scientifically speaking. I'm not a science worshipper, and find plenty problematic with Big Science, but no one in the scientific community would consider the APA terribly relevant to scientific concerns or research, except maybe wonks in Big Pharma, to the extent that the APA can help them push Prozac. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific neural mechanisms. And although researchers still debate exactly how to define personality, they have identified certain core personality dimensions that are consistent across cultures, including novelty-seeking, neuroticism and agreeableness. Intriguing to people has been research in animals and humans that links certain neurotransmitters with some of these dimensions or traits. For example, many studies have found a connection between high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and behaviors related to novelty-seeking. That gives researchers a place to start looking--genes related to dopamine--among the nearly 50,000 in the human genome. To date, there are only two real candidate genes that anyone speaks of with any confidence. The first potential link is between some behaviors related to the Big-Five trait novelty-seeking and a gene that produces the protein responsible for creating a dopamine receptor called DRD4. While some studies have failed to replicate this connection, others have identified a link between the DRD4 gene and other traits linked to novelty-seeking, such as drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The indication is that this gene--or perhaps some other gene related to it--may influence all these interrelated characteristics. The second candidate--linked to the Big Five trait neuroticism--is commonly called the Prozac gene because it produces a protein related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Also known as the serotonin transporter gene or 5-HTTLPR, it has the strongest evidence linking it to neuroticism and other anxiety-related traits, such as harm avoidance. Even so, the gene appears to account for only about 1 to 2 percent of the variance for these traits, says National Cancer Institute molecular biologist Dean Hamer, PhD, one of the first scientists to search for personality genes. If that's
Re: [political-research] Behavioral Genetics (Searching for Genes that Explain Our Personalities)
Behavioral genetics is yesterday's flash in the pan rock star? I doubt it. There is a huge momentum in this field that will carry it forward for decades and centuries to come. It is possible that we will learn how to program life forms with the same skill that we now create computer programs. In fact, all life forms may essentially be tweakable computer programs. There is tremendous excitement about this field at elite universities and research centers all around the world -- many of the best minds are attracted to it. tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There's nothing wrong with the article, any more than there is nothing wrong with an article with an article from 2002 promoting a new rock group that's being touted as the next supergroup, but which winds out disappearing from public view within a few years. Same with the attempts by Hamer discussed in the APA article--it just never panned out, an in fact has hit a brick wall, although silly press hype about Hamer's work at the time (Gay gene found!!) were not really Hamer's fault. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ok -- what's wrong with this particular article? tigerbengalis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, I very much consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe, at least scientifically speaking. I'm not a science worshipper, and find plenty problematic with Big Science, but no one in the scientific community would consider the APA terribly relevant to scientific concerns or research, except maybe wonks in Big Pharma, to the extent that the APA can help them push Prozac. Sean McBride [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [Behavioral genetics is very mainstream these days -- unless you consider the American Psychological Association to be on the fringe.] http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep02/genes.html APA Monitor on Psychology Volume 33, No. 8 September 2002 APA forms working group on genetics research issues Members of the BSA working group Searching for genes that explain our personalities Identifying such genes could eliminate the distinction psychologists make between personality and psychopathology. BY BETH AZAR Finding any real personality genes is decades away. But researchers have a good start. In fact, more researchers are jumping into the complex fray of behavioral genetics each year, fueled by the hope that identifying genes related to personality traits will not only help them better understand what makes people tick but also what goes wrong when normal ticking turns pathological. The goal is to discover genes that affect brain functions that in turn affect how people interact with their environments. The research is slowed by the complexity of the search: Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people's temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in complicated ways that influence several traits at once--and then likely only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the variance in a trait. Researchers do, however, believe that their work will eventually pay off and they'll have a new, more comprehensive, understanding of personality and psychopathology as well as the complex play between genes and environment in shaping personality. Progress to date Scientists have a strong foundation for their search for personality genes from the years of basic psychology and neuroscience studies that have explored just exactly what personality is and how personality-related behaviors might be influenced by specific neural mechanisms. And although researchers still debate exactly how to define personality, they have identified certain core personality dimensions that are consistent across cultures, including novelty-seeking, neuroticism and agreeableness. Intriguing to people has been research in animals and humans that links certain neurotransmitters with some of these dimensions or traits. For example, many studies have found a connection between high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and behaviors related to novelty-seeking. That gives researchers a place to start looking--genes related to dopamine--among the nearly 50,000 in the human genome. To date, there are only two real candidate genes that anyone speaks of with any confidence. The first potential link is between some behaviors related to the Big-Five trait novelty-seeking and a gene that produces the protein responsible for creating a dopamine receptor called DRD4. While some studies have failed to replicate this connection, others have identified a link between the DRD4 gene and other traits linked to novelty-seeking, such as drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The indication is that this gene--or perhaps some other gene related to it--may influence all these interrelated
