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kmanning's picture

Genes and "underlying causes"

Submitted by kmanning on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 6:27pm.

The nytimes science section has a whole bunch of really interesting articles today about genetics and mental illnesses! This one I like in particular, and I think speaks to a lot of what we discussed about how much of who we are is preprogrammed into us vs the idea that our "genes" are nothing until they are read and acted upon by the body:

One scientist from the article says (about DNA) “it doesn’t do anything by itself.” It is a profoundly relational molecule, she said, and it has meaning only in the context of the cell. To focus endlessly on genes, she said, keeps us stuck in a linear, unidirectional and two-dimensional view of life, in which instructions are read out and dutifully followed." 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/science/11angi.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science

Enjoy!

 

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