A few months ago, a fellow skeptic told me he was considering personalized genetic testing and wondered what my opinion was on the service. The idea is that any consumer who desires can send a DNA sample to a company, like 23andMe, and get a report back on various genetic risk factors. Sounds like a … Continue reading
Tag Archives: DNA
Cracked Science Video 2: Code
A follow-up to my first video, this is a quick-and-dirty look at how the DNA code gets translated to make proteins. Enjoy! Il y a des sous-titres en français disponibles en cliquant sur le bouton “CC” sur YouTube. Continue reading
Cracked Science Video 1: Dogma
It has begun. I am starting a series of public science videos in which I will be explaining scientific concepts, criticizing bad science, and debunking pseudoscience. You can think of it as a video version of this blog. Before you watch the first video, a few caveats born of my self-awareness and perfectionism: 1. I … Continue reading
From Rags to Riches: A Tale of the Little Enzyme that Could
When I worked in forensics, we had access to a boiling water tap as a way to bypass the kettle when making tea. Little did I know that our instant hot water dispenser was potentially worth 450 million dollars. The story starts with ecology. Yawn. I know. Most people dislike ecology. But trust me: this … Continue reading
Jargon: Exome (All of the DNA that makes it into mature RNA)
Exome: the part of the DNA that is transcribed into RNA and that remains after the RNA molecule undergoes liposuction. Well, not actual liposuction. DNA is like a book of blueprints, each blueprint being a gene; RNA represents a photocopy of a particular blueprint. The analogy, while useful, breaks down in the following way: the … Continue reading
H-huh-N-what? The Bingo Lottery of Flu Viruses
It may seem as if flu viruses get chosen based on a sluggish and never-ending game of bingo. H1N1? … Does anyone have H1N1? The next number is… H7N9. Please check your cards, the number is H7N9…. H5N1… do we have a bingo? Please bring your card in to be validated. The prizes tonight include … Continue reading
Unveiling Culprits, Part 1: The Immunological Morpheus
As medical research pushes back the veil on the causes of certain well-known diseases, we are sometimes surprised at the unlikely culprits. It sounds obvious today, for instance, that cigarette smoking can cause lung cancer: one can easily picture the smoke snaking down to the lungs and leaving a nasty deposit. Sometimes, however, the connection … Continue reading
Jargon: Tumour Suppressor (A gene whose underexpression can help drive cancer)
Tumour suppressor: a gene whose regular function is to inhibit the division of a cell. When the expression of this gene is blocked, the cell divides much more than it should, which can lead to cancer. A useful analogy is that of a car. When the expression of a tumour suppressor is disrupted, it can … Continue reading
Jargon: Oncogene (A gene whose overexpression can help drive cancer)
Oncogene: a gene whose regular function is to promote the division of a cell. When the expression of this gene is increased, the cell divides much more than it should, which can lead to cancer. A useful analogy is that of a car. When the expression of an oncogene is disrupted, it can be like … Continue reading
Jargon: Central Dogma of Molecular Biology (That DNA makes RNA which makes proteins)
The central dogma of molecular biology: The idea that, within a cell, information is transcribed from DNA into RNA and is translated from RNA to proteins. The DNA molecule is essentially a book containing the blueprints to make everything; RNA is a short copy of the blueprint that is necessary at a given moment; and … Continue reading
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