Category Archives: Human Genetics

Although it is one natural ability of human beings to think and it is what sets us apart from animals, but when you get overboard with thinking, it can get detrimental. A new study suggests that overthinking can shorten your lifespan.

The study conducted by the researchers at Harvard Medical School has found that excessive brain activity could decrease ones lifespan. It involved individuals aged 60-70 years whose brains were compared to those who lived until they were 100 or more.

Their findings suggested that people who died at younger ages had significantly lower levels of the protein REST (RE-1 silencing Transcription)- one that silences your brain activity. Precisely, the study showed that overthinking causes excessive brain activity which in turn leads to depletion in ones REST protein levels and shortened lifespan. And that suppressing such overactivity extends life. Several other studies have also proved that REST protein offers protection against Alzheimers disease.

This is the first study to prove that the activity of the nervous system affects the longevity of human beings. Though several studies have previously reported the phenomenon among animals, the role of neural activity in human aging has remained murky until now.

The lead author Bruce Yankner, professor of genetics at HMS and co-director of thePaul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Agingsaid,An intriguing aspect of our findings is that something as transient as the activity state of neural circuits could have such far-ranging consequences for physiology and life span. He added that they now have several individuals enrolled in such studies to partition the aging population into genetic subgroups. He also opines that this information is invaluable and makes it evident as to why it's so important to support the future of human genetics.

The study has paved the way for designing new therapies for health conditions that are associated with neural overactivity including Alzheimers disease and bipolar diseases. The study results also create the possibility that meditation or medicines that can target REST protein could extend the human life span by modulating neural activity.

"The possibility that being able to activate REST would reduce excitatory neural activity and slow aging in humans is extremely exciting," said the study co-authorMonica Colaicovo, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Overthinking Photo: Jambulboy, Pixabay

Link:
Overthinking Can Shorten Your Life, Says New Study - International Business Times

LONDON,Oct. 21, 2019/PRNewswire/ -- Promising scientific research on the impact of climate change on brain health, advancements in epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, the relationship between stroke and dementia, new data on gene therapies and neurogenerative diseases and developments in brain-machine interfaces are just a few of the topics to be discussed by 4,000 of the most elite neurologists and specialists from more than 126 countries attending the24th World Congress of Neurology,inDubai, UAE,October 27 31, 2019.

The theme of the 2019 World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2019),Accelerating the Pace of Change, emphasizes the global effort to further neurological healthcare, and serves as a springboard to advance the field of neurology around the globe. The World Federation of Neurology is working closely with the World Health Organization to deliver quality neurological care to even the most underserved regions.

WCN 2019 brings together leading scientists, public health experts and policy-makers to turn research into action. This year's Congress at the Dubai World Trade Centre is co-hosted by the Emirates Neurology Society (EMINS) with the World Federation of Neurology (WFN). Througheducational presentations, awards and courses, the Congress will engage key stakeholders on the importance of brain health and access to quality neurological care.

The global nature of WCN 2019 is essential to creating a universal pathway for improved access to care around the world; and allows the World Federation of Neurology to promote neurology in different regions.

"Every two years, the Congress is held in a different quadrant of the world to promote improved neurological care and accelerate research advancements around the world," said Professor Carroll.

New this year, WCN 2019 is hosting two press conferences that will be live-streamed on theWorld Federation of Neurology's Facebook page. The first press conference includes some of the world's leading experts on stroke, to discuss new advancements on the relationship between stroke and dementia. The second press conference highlights the global economic burden of migraine, and how patients and employers can work together to accommodate those living with migraine in the workplace.

Here are key clinical highlights that will bepresented by world-renowned scientists and facultyduring WCN 2019:

Large-scale sequencing efforts of vast cohorts of patients with various disorders are generating data at an unprecedented rate, bringing precision neurology closer to the forefront than ever before. Fowzan Alkuraya, MD, professor of human genetics at Alfaisal University and a principal scientist at KFSHRC,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will share information on the genotype-phenotype connections made possible by the phenomenon of autozygosity in precision neurology. "Precision neurology eliminates clinician guesswork, empowering patients to receive an accurate diagnosis regardless of location or individual expertise of attending neurologist," said Alkuraya.

New technologies have revolutionized the ability for scientists to map, monitor and modulate brain activity in mice and other animal models. These advances have the potential to close a major gap in neurology and allow researchers to study the brain activities that underlie patients' symptoms. To achieve this goal, the NIH BRAIN Initiative is focused on helping researchers study neural circuits under healthy and diseased conditions. "The brain has 85 billion cells firing in patterns and the big challenge is to understand what these patterns mean," saysWalter Koroshetz, MD, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). "As these new technologies advance, they could present the ability to develop new therapies based on normalizing or compensating for abnormal circuit activity."

Massive central or peripheral tissue damage, in many cases, poses a major reconstructive challenge with few therapeutic options. Bionic Reconstruction can restore extremity function in the face of severe central and peripheral nerve lesion, and enable patients to interact with mechatronic devices in an intuitive and natural way. "We developed different strategies that combine complex technical systems with sophisticated surgical techniques to create novel neurological landscapes so that patients can interact with complex mechatronic devices in an intuitive and natural way," saysOskar Aszmann, MD, Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Medical University ofViennaand presenter at the Congress.

The scientific understanding of neuroimaging through research and the use of artificial intelligence, including machine and deep learning, has expanded. With advanced neuroimaging, automated reports and objective parameters will become more commonplace, while simultaneously making it easier for neurologists to explain imaging findings to their patients. "These advancements could transform the field of neurology by promoting our understanding of functional and structural correlates of neurologic disorders,"Christian Enzinger, MD, MBA, Associate Professor at the Medical University ofGrazinAustria.

New advancements in research reveal a relationship between stroke and dementia, in that vascular changes of the brain through hypertension increase the incidence of dementia. With that in mind, research suggests preventative measures to reduce small vessel vascular disease could mitigate the prevalence of people with dementia. During a press conference featuring some of the world's leading experts in stroke, will discuss how taking preventative stroke measures may be able to reduce the risk of dementia, and how to ensure that knowledge translates to regions throughout the world. The press conference will take placeMonday, Oct. 28at3:15 pm. Gulf Standard Time.

In 2019, the World Federation of Neurology partnered with the International Headache Society's Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (IHS-GPAC) to spread global awareness about migraine. In a joint press conference, representatives from IHS, WFN and patient organizations around the world will discuss how to carry the momentum from World Brain Day into the workplace and beyond. The press conference will take placeTuesday, Oct. 29at8:00 amGulf Standard Time.

The Congress is poised to bring theworld's leaders in scienceto accelerate the pace of change around the globe. Additional breaking news releases will be distributed during the week. Media are welcome to attend on-site, onFacebookor request interviews atpress@yakketyyak.com.

About the World Federation of Neurology

The World Federation of Neurology represents 120 member neurological societies around the globe to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide by promoting neurological education and training with an emphasis on under-resourced areas of the world. WFN supports the spread of accurate research and clinical information in the pursuit of improvements in the field of neurology. With support from member organizations around the globe, WFN unites the world to allow patients greater access to brain health.

For more information, please visit the WCN 2019 web site atwww.wfneurology.org, find our live stream press conferences on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/wfneurology, on Twitter athttps://twitter.com/wfneurologyor by searching using the tag#WCN2019.

Media ContactAshley Logan, Yakkety Yak LLCpress@yakketyyak.com+1 (312) 648 2925

See the rest here:
New research on climate change and the brain among the brain health initiatives unveiled at 24th World Congress of Neurology - WFN News

Jamie Metzl is an extremely impressive man. Having held senior positions on Clinton's National Security Council and Department of State, and Joe Biden's Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he's also been Executive VP of the Asia Society, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former partner in Cranmere LLC, a global investment company. Today, while he's not running ultra-marathons, he's best known as a geopolitics expert, futurist and author.

Metzl writes in science fiction and scientific non-fiction, and his latest book, Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity, delivers a serious, strongly-researched warning on what's likely to happen if we sleepwalk into the genetics age.

We spoke to Metzl at WCIT 2019 in Yerevan, Armenia, where he appeared as a keynote speaker, moderator and panel member.

Vahram Baghdasaryan/WCIT Yerevan 2019

"Right now were at this moment of super-convergence," Metzl tells us. "Its not any one technology thats determinative, its all these technologies happening at the same time, because theyre all influencing each other."

The first of these, Metzl outlines, is cheap sequencing of the human genome. Well need a ton of genetic information to be able to find the patterns needed to move forward, and while the cost of full genome sequencing is currently the limiting factor, it's dropping steeply, from around US$2.7 billion in 2003, to less than US$600 today. That's going to have to come down by another order or two of magnitude before it starts getting used as a matter of routine.

Secondly, 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things promises to teach us enormous amounts of information about people's health over the years, as wearable health analysis devices begin to stream back colossal piles of dynamic data about what's going on in people's bodies. Eventually, this will enable population-wide phenotypical research to be cross-checked against the genome to learn even more about how genes express themselves, individually and in concert with one another.

Thirdly, big data and analytics tools. The 2.9 billion haploid pairs making up each sequenced human genome represent about 725 megabytes of data, and dynamic health records will likely require even more storage space, in formats that can easily be cross-checked against each other at a massive scale.

Metzl notes that artificial intelligence or more precisely, deep learning is the only way we'll ever be able to meaningfully process such monstrous amounts of data, and its capabilities are rocketing forward daily. Perhaps when it's ready for serious commercial use, the speed and power of quantum computing will prove invaluable in quickly crunching through these petabytes of data.

Then of course, there are the wetter technologies: vastly improved IVF technologies that will soon enable us to generate egg and sperm cells from skin cells without needing invasive or embarrassing procedures to be carried out. Eventually, we'll have the capability to cheaply produce dozens, or even hundreds of embryos to sequence, select and implant.

And of course, gene editing tools. CRISPR/Cas9 editing is the most famous example of these, but it's already being compared to "genetic vandalism" due to its imprecise nature. More accurate and precise tools are constantly being discovered and refined to edit the genome of living subjects.

"We have to stitch together all these technologies," says Metzl, "and its already starting to happen. And itll happen increasingly until the end of time."

Vahram Baghdasaryan/WCIT Yerevan 2019

The first step, says Metzl, will be in healthcare. Our interactions with health care professionals will move from the current generalized model, to something more personal and precise as we start to understand what treatments work for people with certain genetic markers. Eventually, we'll have enough information to start engaging in predictive health care.

"You dont need to be perfect to make a huge impact on health care," says Metzl, "you just have to be better than the status quo, where nobody has that information, for it to be applied." It'll inch forward, offering probabilities rather than certainties as more and more is discovered.

Next and soon, we'll start seeing advanced embryo selection as a core part of any IVF treatment. Prospective parents will start having multiple embryos to choose from, each of which will have its genome fully sequenced so they'll be able to choose between offspring with a growing amount of information.

To begin with, this will allow parents to select against crippling genetic diseases, much the same as how parents who can afford the right scans can "select against" things like Down syndrome now.

But as science learns more and more about what individual genes, and combinations of them, do to the final outcome of a human, we'll quickly gain the ability to select for certain traits as well as against others. Will you want your child to be taller? More athletic, with a greater proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers? What about intelligence? Skin color? Eye color? Would you select for a child with a higher probability of living longer? Would you select for a child with a higher degree of extraversion, or a more even temperament?

All these things, and many more, are already known to have genetic underpinnings. And soon, parents will be able to choose between dozens, or potentially hundreds of their own biological embryos with this information at hand. All these possible kids are yours, so why wouldn't you choose the one that appears to have the best possible shot at life? Not doing so, says Metzl, could grow to be seen as a "crime against potential."

The disadvantages of having children the old-fashioned way will soon become apparent, as smarter, stronger, faster, healthier kids born from selection processes begin to dominate across a range of competitive situations, from sport to business to earning capacity and these advantages will multiply with subsequent generations, as more and more science is applied to the reproductive process.

"Embryo selection uses technologies that already exist," says Metzl. "IVF, embryo screening, and genome sequencing. Obviously we need to get better at all these things, but its happening very, very quickly."

And that's just using our naturally-occurring genetics. Soon afterward will follow precision gene editing, in which you select option J from your pre-implanted embryos, but make a few tweaks before you implant it. Here's where things start getting a little sketchy, as you're making edits to the germ line of the human species.

"Editing the genome requires the understanding that one gene might not just do one thing; it might do a lot of things," Metzl tells us. "If its a particularly harmful gene, then we know the alternative is deadly, so that decision will be easier. But when we move into the world of non-deadly single gene mutations, well, then the costs of not having a full understanding go higher."

Metzl says it's clear which direction things will go."We are going to do more and more complex genome editing," he tells us, "either to address risks, or to create enhancements - and there will be no natural boundary between the two. This is all about ethics. The science is advancing, theres nothing we can do to stop the science. The question is ethics."

The dawn of a new age of superhumans could nearly be upon us, in which a lucky, selected, edited few will have extraordinary genetic potentials in a wide range of areas. Sports could become almost meaningless, as it'll be impossible to tell a selected or edited human from a "natural born" one. Humanity will begin steering its own evolution for the first time in history, with some predictable results and some we can't see coming.

Negative results, says Metzl, could include everything from a gaping division between genetic haves and have-nots which could express itself within and between countries all the way up to eliminating all human life altogether. "We may make choices based on something we think is really good, like eliminating a terrible disease," says Metzl, "but then that genetic pattern that enabled that disease, in some other formulation, could be protective against some threat we cant even imagine, thats coming our way a thousand years from now. Thats why we need to be so respectful of our diversity. Genetic diversity, up to this point, has been our sole survival strategy. If we didnt have diversity, you could say wed still be single-celled organisms. We wouldnt, wed probably just have died. When the world changes around us, diversity is what helps us survive."

And then there's the potential of creating genetically engineered weapons. "Researchers in Canada spent $100,000 a couple of years ago," says Metzl, "to create essentially a weaponized version of horse pox in the lab, to show what could be done. Well, that could probably now be done for $20,000. In five years, you might be talking $2,000. These tools are agnostic. They dont come with their own value system. Just like nuclear power. We had to work out what are the OK uses, what are the not OK uses, and how do we structure things to we minimize the downsides."

Metzl wants people across the world to be informed about the technologies and capabilities that are barreling down the pipeline toward us, so meaningful efforts can be made to steer them in a direction that everyone can agree on, and set up clear redlines past which we agree not to venture. Each country, he says, needs to set up a national regulatory infrastructure to control the pace of these changes, and there also needs to be an international body with some teeth to make sure certain nations don't leap ahead and change the nature of humanity just due to lax regulations.

"This is always going to be changing," says Metzl. "The science is changing, the societal norms about what is and isnt OK are going to be changing too, and we need a dynamic process that can at least try to do a better job of keeping up with that rapid change."

Where does Metzl stand personally on how this next phase should be approached? "I'm a conservative person about this," he says. "I mean, four billion years of evolution is a lot. Life has made a lot of trade-offs. So if youre going against four billion years of evolution, you have to be humble. We know so little about the body. We cant let our hubris run away with us."

If you want to get informed on this incredibly complex, multilayered and potentially explosive technological revolution, Metzl's book Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity (April 2019) is an outstanding summary with more examples and possible future situations laid out than you could possibly need, written in an engaging style designed to be accessible to anyone. I found it extremely enlightening and recommend it thoroughly.

Source: Jamie Metzl, WCIT Yerevan 2019

Read the original post:
Hacking Darwin: How the coming genetics revolution will play out - New Atlas

In the last century, the Western world has increased its emphasis on effort, talent, and achievement. This opened up opportunities for more people to climb the social ladder in search of a better life. A wider accessibility to an improved educational system in the last century has increased social mobility and has advanced the freedom of many to choose how and where to live. Yet, social inequalities are now growing and social mobility has reportedly been stalling since the 1990s in the richer countries of the world.

An unintended side effect of merit-based social mobility is that it stimulates selective migration; people with a higher education are more likely to move to regions that offer better living conditions and professional opportunities. This brain drain may be increasing inequalities between regions. There are large regional inequalities in wealth and health within Great Britain, and in the last 30 years, regional educational inequalities have reportedly grown.

A study from one of us (A.A.) published in Nature Human Behaviourtoday (October 21) shows that these regional inequalities have a genetic component that is becoming stronger over time. Data on about 450,000 British people of European descent illustrate that people who have more genetic variants linked to higher levels of education are on average more likely to live in wealthier areas of Great Britain, whereas people who have fewer of these variants are on average more likely to live in regions that have faced economic challenges, such as coal mining regions.

Regional differences in genes linked to education are just as much in line with some political differences, the study revealed, as with health and economic outcomes.

The study reveals that these regional genetic differences have been increasing due to migration: people are more likely to leave the poorer regions of the country if they are born with a genetic predisposition for higher educational attainment.

It is not exactly clear yet why these genes are linked to educational attainment; possibly through biological processes that influence traits such as intelligence, perseverance, and industriousness, but also partly because genes that are linked to a higher education are more common in children born to parents with a higher education. These parents tend to have more resources to provide better learning environments for their children, and environmental influences matter for educational outcomes.

Health outcomes such as obesity or diabetes show similar differences between richer and poorer regions. Our study found that these regional health differences could be better explained by environmental influences, such as the amount of fast food restaurants, than by regional differences in genetics. In other words, our chances of living a healthy life are not only influenced by our genes, but are also by where we live.

An unequal distribution of opportunities, benefits, and living circumstances across the country are a potent source for collective frustrations. The five poorest regions in Northern Europe are reportedly all in Great Britain, while the richest region is in London. It is not hard to imagine how the growing regional gap in wealth and health can be fertile ground for growing political differences. People increasingly live in different worlds. Regional differences in genes linked to education are just as much in line with some political differences, the study revealed, as with health and economic outcomes.

Our analyses also looked at regional differences in past and recent general election outcomes and the Brexit referendum. The regional clustering of genes linked to lower education was most strongly in line with votes for parties opposed to the political status quo, namely votes for the UK Independent Party and Brexit Leave votes, similar to previously reported educationally based voting patterns. People who did not vote in 2015 and 2016 were also more likely to come from regions with a higher prevalence of variants linked to lower education than people who did not vote in 1970.

The reward system of our society is based on the ideal that we can improve our lives by climbing the social ladder through our achievements. This type of merit-based social mobility is a good catalyst for societal progress in societies that are fair, as it can motivate people from all social strata to maximize their potential. When social class is regionally bound, however, this meritocratic system can result in migration flows that can exacerbate regional inequalities at a deeper level and lead to a decrease in social mobility.

In search of a solution to this complex problem, we think a good place to start is improving the living conditions of the poorer regions. The current conditions stimulate outwards migration, worse health outcomes, and likely worse educational outcomes as well. If these regional differences in living circumstances remain, the brain drain will continue and regional inequality will deepen. The economic and political unrest that follows will probably be felt across the entire country and beyond.

Abdel Abdellaouiis a population geneticist & behavioral geneticist at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, whereJudy Luigjesis a neuroscientist.

Original post:
Opinion: The Nature of Social Inequalities in Great Britain - The Scientist

Gene editing of DNA inside living cells has many potential uses from treating human disease to altering crops and livestock for agriculture and is often considered the preeminent technological breakthrough of the new millennium. For example, in a move that has been widely criticized, Chinese researcher He Jiankui claims to have edited human babies to resist HIV by altering a gene called CCR5.

For most commercial applications gene editings appeal is simplicity and precision: It alters genomes at precise sites, without inserting foreign DNA. This is why, in popular articles, gene editing is often referred to as tweaking.

The tweaking narrative, however, is an assumption and not an established fact. And it recently suffered a large dent.

In late July researchers from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed the whole genomes of two calves originally born in 2016. The calves were edited by the biotech startup Recombinetics and had become biotech celebrities for having a genetic change that removed their horns. Cattle without horns are known as polled. The calves are well-known because Recombinetics has insisted that its two edited animals were altered with extreme precision to possess only the polled trait.

However, what the FDA researchers found was not precision. Each of Recombinetics calves possessed two antibiotic resistance genes, along with other segments of superfluous bacterial DNA. Thus, apparently unbeknownst to Recombinetics, adjacent to its edited site were 4,000 base pairs of DNA that were unintentionally introduced alongside the DNA required for the hornless trait.

The FDA finding has attracted some media attention, most of it focused on the incompetence of Recombinetics. The startup failed to find (or perhaps look for) this DNA, which it had itself added as part of the editing process. Following the FDA findings, Brazil terminated a breeding program begun with the Recombinetics animals.

The FDAs findings in this case, however, pale in comparison to another recent discovery about gene editing: that foreign DNA from surprising sources can routinely find its way into the genome of edited animals.

These findings have not been reported in the scientific or popular media. But they are of great consequence from a biosafety perspective: They show the need for strong regulatory oversight of the gene-editing industry.

Implications of superfluous DNA in edited cells

In short, the new findings are very simple: Cutting DNA inside cells, regardless of the precise type of gene editing, predisposes genomes to acquire unwanted DNA. Therefore, it is not hard to imagine, for instance, gene-edited animals becoming the breeding stock that leads to the development or spread of novel or unwelcome viruses or mycoplasmas. This is because they make take up DNA from other species that contaminates the editing reagents.

Stuart Newman of New York Medical College is a cell biologist, a founding member of the Council for Responsible Genetics, and Editor-In-Chief of the journal Biological Theory.

I have little doubt E. coli DNA has been inadvertently incorporated into many CRISPR targets, Newman said, referring to a method of gene editing. And it is likely to cause problems, as it has in the horned cattle.

Similar worries apply to human applications. Concern over the incorporation of DNA from other species has not been raised publicly in connection with the gene-edited human babies of researcher He Jiankui, but, clearly, it should be.

The second important conclusion, and what the Recombinetics case exemplifies, is that researchers are often not looking for stray DNA. If they were to look, many more examples would likely be reported. We can conclude this because the research cited above used standard methods of gene editing. The only atypical aspect was the extra effort put towards detecting superfluous DNA.

Gene Editing versus GMOs

What these recent findings also highlight is a more general, but little-discussed, aspect of gene editing. Although the goals of gene-editors and genetic engineers are assumed to be very different, their standard methods are, in practice, virtually indistinguishable.

Consider crop plants, the subject of much of the current commercial interest in gene-editing. To edit crops, DNA is introduced into plant cells using what are standard genetic engineering methods. These methods can all create mutations. That is, they damage DNA. Depending on the specifics of the method used, the collective result can be ten thousand mutations per genome. For gene editing of crops this means that one on-target 'tweak' may be dwarfed by thousands of off-target ones.

The other necessary comparison with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is their track record of being found, long after commercialization, to have unintended foreign DNA, or transgenes, present in their genomes. Cornells virus-resistant papaya, released in Hawaii, turned out to contain at least five (and possibly six) separate fragments of foreign DNA. Cornell had previously told regulators its papaya contained only two transgenes. Another example: Monsantos Roundup Ready Soybean, by then grown on 96% of U.S. soybean acres, was found by independent researchers to have substantially more foreign DNA than Monsanto had claimed.

So, if one only listened to the rhetoric contrasting precise tweaks of gene editing with messy, random genetic engineering one would hardly suspect that, when it comes to plants, and often to animals as well, there is little difference between the reality of gene editing and that of genetic engineering.

Are there solutions?

The cases mentioned above demonstrate that the gene-editing industry, and not just Recombinetics, is not showing much interest in self-examination. Far greater even than the GMO industry before it, there is a cowboy zeitgeist: Blow off problems and rush to market. Thus most gene-editing companies are reluctant to share information and consequently very little is known about how, in practice, many of these companies derive their gene-edited products.

Many countries are at present formulating regulations for gene editing. These will go a long way to determining who benefits and who loses from any potential benefits that gene editing may have. In any event, these results provide a compelling case for active government oversight.

But it is not just regulators who need to step up, however. Investors, insurers, journalists, everyone, in fact, should be asking far more questions of the scientists and companies active in gene editing. Otherwise, boon is likely to stray into bane.

Editors Note: This is a revised version of an article originally published by Independent Science News. To read the original version, which dives deeper into the science of gene editing and contains a bibliography of reference materials, click here.

Originally posted here:
This is Why Gene Editing of Plants and Animals Needs to be Regulated - In These Times

CDC officials say they're not sure why younger people who are having less sex are acquiring more STDS, but a new bill moving through the House to increase spending on STD prevention could help. Public health news is on CBD, pros and cons of genetic tests, limiting sports time for teens, childhood obesity, insecticides, getting young kids hooked on sugar, smart aging, and dementia, as well.

The Wall Street Journal:Public-Health Puzzle: Young People Having Less Sex, Contracting More STDsIt sounds contradictory: Young people, were told, are having less sex than older generations did at the same age. But theyre also contracting more sexually transmitted diseases than any other group, and the rates of infection are accelerating at an alarming pace. Last year, combined cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia reached an all-time high with half the reported infections occurring in adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 24. (McGinty, 10/18)

Stateline:CBD May Be Natural, But Is It Safe?Hemp cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis extract largely unknown a few years ago, has become so popular that some Americans take a spoonful every day. People are vaping CBD, drinking CBD-infused coffee and snacking on CBD-infused chocolates in the hopes of easing their aches, pains and anxiety. But the health benefits of cannabidiol are unclear, and many products hitting the market havent been made in clean, permitted facilities or tested for toxic pesticides, heavy metals and bacteria, according to state officials, hemp businesses and news reports. (Quinton, 10/19)

NPR:Genetic Tests For Psychiatric Drugs Now Covered By Some InsurersAs a teenager, Katie Gruman was prescribed one mental health drug after another. None seemed to help her manage symptoms of anxiety and bipolar disorder, so she self-medicated with alcohol and illicit drugs. It would take five years, and trying more than 15 different medications, before she found meds that actually helped. (Dangor, 10/17)

Stat:Competitor Accuses 23andMe Of 'False Negatives' In Cancer-Gene TestingWhen 23andMe received government permission in 2017 to sell health-related genetic testing, it came with several conditions, including that the company tell customers that its brand of testing can miss disease-causing variants. Now, in a study presented on Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, a competitor has analyzed the likelihood of such false negatives, concluding that in some ethnic groups the chance that 23andMes tests will miss a cancer-causing DNA variant is 100%. 23andMe pushed back hard on that conclusion from DNA testing company Invitae (NVTA). It is patently wrong to state that 23andMe delivers false negatives for variants that it does not test nor claim to test for, said a company spokesman. This is a false and misleading characterization of 23andMes test. (Begley, 10/17)

The New York Times:Parents Should Limit Sports Participation For Children, Trainers SayToo many children are risking injuries, even lifelong health problems, because they practice too intensively in a single sport, and parents should set limits on their participation, according to a leading organization of athletic trainers. New recommendations issued by the National Athletic Trainers Association urge parents to ensure that children and adolescents postpone specializing in one sport for as long as possible, that they take at least two days off each week for rest and that they not play a single sport for more than eight months a year. (Rabin, 10/17)

WBUR:Childhood Obesity Is Rising 'Shockingly Fast' Even In Poor CountriesHigh rates of childhood obesity are a problem in a rising number of low- and middle-income countries, according to a new global assessment of child malnutrition by UNICEF. It's the agency's most comprehensive nutrition report in two decades. The report paints a complex, dire picture of the state of children's health. (McDonnell, 10/17)

The New York Times:A Nazi Version Of DDT Was Forgotten. Could It Help Fight Malaria?What if, after the Allies won World War II, world health officials had employed a Nazi version of DDT against mosquitoes that transmit malaria? Could that persistent disease, which still infects more than 200 million people a year and kills 400,000 of them, have been wiped off the planet? That is one of the musings of chemists at New York University who came across an insecticide that had been developed by German scientists during World War II in the course of conducting abstract research on another topic. (Chang, 10/17)

The Washington Post:How The Baby Food Industry Hooks Low-Income Toddlers On Sugar, Salt And FatLeading health organizations recently released their first consensus recommendations about what young children should be drinking: only breast milk or, if necessary, infant formula until a baby is six months old, with water introduced around then, and plain cows milk at around their first birthday. Thats it. No juice, no flavored or plant-based milks, no caffeinated beverages or sodas. The good news is parents of infants seem to be on the right track breastfeeding is on the rise. But once children get into the toddler zone, its pandemonium. (Reiley, 10/17)

The New York Times:Youre Only As Old As You FeelNot long ago, Stephanie Heller, a New Jersey realtor, was leaving her gym after a workout when she noticed a woman in the parking lot struggling to bend down. I dont know if she dropped something and had to pick it up, or if her shoe was untied, Ms. Heller said, but she eagerly bounded over to help. The woman blamed old age for her incapacity, explaining that she was 70. But Ms. Heller was 71. (Laber-Warren, 10/17)

The New York Times:Can Personality Affect Dementia Risk?Your personality in high school may help predict your risk of dementia decades later. Researchers reached this conclusion using a 150-item personality inventory given to a national sample of teenagers in 1960. The survey assessed character traits sociability, calmness, empathy, maturity, conscientiousness, self-confidence and others using scores ranging from low to high. For their study, in JAMA Psychiatry, scientists linked the scores of 82,232 of the test-takers to Medicare data on diagnoses of dementia from 2011 to 2013. (Bakalar, 10/17)

Originally posted here:
What's Behind Rise Of STDS Among Young People?: Epidemic Alarms Health Officials As Prevention Funding Drops - Kaiser Health News

The theme of the 2019 World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2019), Accelerating the Pace of Change, emphasizes the global effort to further neurological healthcare, and serves as a springboard to advance the field of neurology around the globe. The World Federation of Neurology is working closely with the World Health Organization to deliver quality neurological care to even the most underserved regions.

WCN 2019 brings together leading scientists, public health experts and policy-makers to turn research into action. This year's Congress at the Dubai World Trade Centre is co-hosted by the Emirates Neurology Society (EMINS) with the World Federation of Neurology (WFN). Through educational presentations, awards and courses, the Congress will engage key stakeholders on the importance of brain health and access to quality neurological care.

"Our Congress emphasizes the importance of brain health, inspiring researchers and patients alike by showcasing extensive, high-quality scientific research and educating with teaching programs unique to this Congress," said Professor William Carroll, MB BS, MD, FRACP, FRCP(E), president of the World Federation of Neurology.

The global nature of WCN 2019 is essential to creating a universal pathway for improved access to care around the world; and allows the World Federation of Neurology to promote neurology in different regions.

"Every two years, the Congress is held in a different quadrant of the world to promote improved neurological care and accelerate research advancements around the world," said Professor Carroll.

New this year, WCN 2019 is hosting two press conferences that will be live-streamed on the World Federation of Neurology's Facebook page. The first press conference includes some of the world's leading experts on stroke, to discuss new advancements on the relationship between stroke and dementia. The second press conference highlights the global economic burden of migraine, and how patients and employers can work together to accommodate those living with migraine in the workplace.

"This is an exciting time for the field of neurology as healthcare professionals and researchers have come together in a movement toward global brain health and better access to care," said Wolfgang Grisold, the World Federation of Neurology's Secretary-General.

Here are key clinical highlights that will be presented by world-renown scientists and facultyduring WCN 2019:

Molecular Precision in Neurology Shortens Diagnostic OdysseyLarge-scale sequencing efforts of vast cohorts of patients with various disorders are generating data at an unprecedented rate, bringing precision neurology closer to the forefront than ever before. Fowzan Alkuraya, MD, professor of human genetics at Alfaisal University and a principal scientist at KFSHRC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will share information on the genotype-phenotype connections made possible by the phenomenon of autozygosity in precision neurology. "Precision neurology eliminates clinician guesswork, empowering patients to receive an accurate diagnosis regardless of location or individual expertise of attending neurologist," said Alkuraya.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative Focuses on Measuring Circuit ActivityNew technologies have revolutionized the ability for scientists to map, monitor and modulate brain activity in mice and other animal models. These advances have the potential to close a major gap in neurology and allow researchers to study the brain activities that underlie patients' symptoms. To achieve this goal, the NIH BRAIN Initiative is focused on helping researchers study neural circuits under healthy and diseased conditions. "The brain has 85 billion cells firing in patterns and the big challenge is to understand what these patterns mean," says Walter Koroshetz, MD, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). "As these new technologies advance, they could present the ability to develop new therapies based on normalizing or compensating for abnormal circuit activity."

Novel New Strategies in Bionic Extremity ReconstructionMassive central or peripheral tissue damage, in many cases, poses a major reconstructive challenge with few therapeutic options. Bionic Reconstruction can restore extremity function in the face of severe central and peripheral nerve lesion, and enable patients to interact with mechatronic devices in an intuitive and natural way. "We developed different strategies that combine complex technical systems with sophisticated surgical techniques to create novel neurological landscapes so that patients can interact with complex mechatronic devices in an intuitive and natural way," says Oskar Aszmann, MD, Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna and presenter at the Congress.

Updates in Imaging to Transform Field of NeurologyThe scientific understanding of neuroimaging through research and the use of artificial intelligence, including machine and deep learning, has expanded. With advanced neuroimaging, automated reports and objective parameters will become more commonplace, while simultaneously making it easier for neurologists to explain imaging findings to their patients. "These advancements could transform the field of neurology by promoting our understanding of functional and structural correlates of neurologic disorders," Christian Enzinger, MD, MBA, Associate Professor at the Medical University of Graz in Austria.

Stroke and Vascular Dementia Press ConferenceNew advancements in research reveal a relationship between stroke and dementia, in that vascular changes of the brain through hypertension increase the incidence of dementia. With that in mind, research suggests preventative measures to reduce small vessel vascular disease could mitigate the prevalence of people with dementia. During a press conference featuring some of the world's leading experts in stroke, will discuss how taking preventative stroke measures may be able to reduce the risk of dementia, and how to ensure that knowledge translates to regions throughout the world. The press conference will take place Monday, Oct. 28 at 3:15 pm. Gulf Standard Time.

Global Economic Impact of Migraine Press ConferenceIn 2019, the World Federation of Neurology partnered with the International Headache Society's Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (IHS-GPAC) to spread global awareness about migraine. In a joint press conference, representatives from IHS, WFN and patient organizations around the world will discuss how to carry the momentum from World Brain Day into the workplace and beyond. The press conference will take place Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 8:00 am Gulf Standard Time.

The Congress is poised to bring the world's leaders in scienceto accelerate the pace of change around the globe. Additional breaking news releases will be distributed during the week. Media are welcome to attend on-site, on Facebookor request interviews at press@yakketyyak.com.

About the World Federation of NeurologyThe World Federation of Neurology represents 120 member neurological societies around the globe to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide by promoting neurological education and training with an emphasis on under-resourced areas of the world. WFN supports the spread of accurate research and clinical information in the pursuit of improvements in the field of neurology. With support from member organizations around the globe, WFN unites the world to allow patients greater access to brain health. For more information, please visit the WCN 2019 web site at http://www.wfneurology.org, find our live stream press conferences on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wfneurology/, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/wfneurologyor by searching using the tag #WCN2019.

Media ContactAshley Logan, Yakkety Yak LLCpress@yakketyyak.com 00+1+312.648.2925

SOURCE World Federation of Neurology

http://www.wfneurology.org

Read the original post:
New Research on Climate Change and the Brain, the Relationship Between Stroke and Dementia, Advances in Epilepsy and MS Among the Brain Health...

My 65-pound black mutt is feeling playful. She rams her headinto the couch cushions and launches her butt into the air, snuffling andgrowling excitedly. She achieves a partial headstand and her hind legs kickwildly. She is the embodiment of joy, and that joy is infectious.

Dogs have been jubilantly kicking their legs in the air forat least 14,000 years, and during that time they became our devoted companions.Two new books offer different takes on this interspecies bond. The first makesa compelling case that dogs do far more than just obey us they love us. Theother book offers a broader look at all the complexities and contradictions ofthe human-dog relationship.

Clive Wynne, a canine behaviorist and founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University in Tempe, has always loved dogs, but it took him many years to become convinced that the feeling is reciprocated. In Dog Is Love, readers accompany Wynne on his scientific journey from skeptic to believer. Not only do dogs love us, he argues, but it is their capacity and desire to connect with humans that makes dogs unique.

Many scientists are loath to talk about the emotional lives of animals, love in particular (SN: 3/2/19, p. 28). The concept seems too soppy and imprecise, Wynne writes, and we risk anthropomorphizing dogs. But acknowledging their capacity for love is the only way to make sense of why dogs are so devoted to us and thrive in our company, he argues. Dog Is Love takes readers all the way from theories about how dogs became domesticated to recent behavioral, biological and genetics research that provides convincing evidence that our canine companions feel affection. Dogs genetic makeup predisposes them to be loving (SN: 8/19/17, p. 8), Wynne argues, and early exposure to humans (or even other animals) solidifies the connection.

Our Dogs, Ourselvesoffers a more comprehensive exploration of the human-dog relationship. AlexandraHorowitz, head of Barnard Colleges Dog Cognition Lab in New York City andauthor of the 2009 New York Timesbestseller Inside of a Dog, gives an overviewof the culture of dogdom the way people acquire, name, train, raise, treat,talk to and see dogs. She explores the lighter side of this culture, includingour fixation with dog accessories everything from dog bathrobes and caninebody sprays to fake testicles.

But Horowitz also tackles the darker side and poses somethought-provoking ethical questions: Should we view dogs as property? Is spayingand neutering dogs the right way to deal with overpopulation? Should dogs beused in research?

Both books address a particularly thorny problem: dog breeds. Initially, dogs were bred for specific purposes hunting or providing comfort, for example. But in the late 1800s, the emphasis became purity, Horowitz writes. Today, purebred dogs are descended from a relatively small pool of founders and inbreeding is rampant. A purebreds family tree might reveal that his father is also his grandfather and his mothers uncle to boot, Wynne writes. Because the gene pool for each breed is closed, genetic defects crop up. Dalmatians are predisposed to deafness and a heritable urinary tract disorder. German shepherds are prone to hip problems.

Headlines and summaries of the latest Science News articles, delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays

Some of the defining physical characteristics of certainbreeds can also present serious health challenges. Bulldogs have such enormousheads that puppies must typically be delivered via cesarean section. Pugs andother flat-faced dogs often have trouble breathing. Breed standards, whichdescribe how a breed should look, glorify disease and deformity, Horowitzwrites. The puzzling thing isnt that these animals are diseased, she adds,its that it is we who made themsick.

Horowitz and Wynne agree that we can do better for dogs. Thatmight mean changing the laws that govern dog ownership and how we treat dogs, rethinkingour devotion to purebreds and finding better ways to control overpopulation anddeal with strays. Wynne argues that no-kill shelters often become little morethan canine warehouses, housing dogs that have no hope of being adopted. He proposes some modest changes that mighthelp improve the lives of shelter dogs and adoption rates.

We also must help our dogs lead richer, more satisfyinglives. Dogs are suited to be companions, but many spend the majority of theirlives alone, awaiting the return of their humans. The cruelest thing you cando to a highly social being is shut him up all day where he cannot interactwith anyone, Wynne writes. Yet that has become the norm in many countries.

If you want a deep dive into the research that suggests dogs are capable of love, how this capability came to be and what dog owners can do to foster it, grab Dog Is Love. For a wide-ranging exploration of the human-dog relationship, including its perils and pitfalls, pick up Our Dogs, Ourselves. Both books will make you see canine companions in new ways. And both are best enjoyed with a dogs head in your lap.

BuyDog Is Love orOur Dogs, Ourselvesfrom Amazon.com. Science Newsis a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Please see ourFAQfor more details.

See the rest here:
New books explore why dogs and humans have such a special bond - Science News

Most U.S. Dairy Cows Are Descended from Just 2 Bulls. Thats Not Good, reads an NPR article. As I perused the article, it only took me a moment to make a connection to the young earth creationist teachings I was raised on.

A few years ago, Dechow and some of his colleagues at Penn State made a discovery that shocked a lot of people. All the Holstein bulls that farmers were using could trace their lineage back to one of just two male ancestors. Everything goes back to two bulls born in the 1950s and 1960s, he says. Their names were Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation and Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief.

Or, to put it another way:

When researchers at the Pennsylvania State University looked closely at the male lines a few years ago,they discoveredmore than 99 percent of them can be traced back to one of two bulls, both born in the 1960s. That means among all the male Holsteins in the country, there are just two Y chromosomes.

There are just two Y chromosomes found among all Holstein dairy cows. Ponder that for a moment. And then consider this:According to young earth creationist doctrine, all humans after the flood could trace their lineage back to just one male ancestorNoah.

Think back to what you learned about genetics in high school. Most humans have either two X chromosomes or one X and one Y chromosome. Noah would have had one Y chromosome. His three sons would each have had the same Y chromosome. His grandchildren born after the Flood would also have had the same Y chromosome.Of course, there would have been only one Y chromosome to begin with anyway, hundreds of years before thisAdams.

Young earth creationists play fast and loose with genetics. Genetics does not work this way, and that its why researchers are worried about the U.S. dairy population.

What weve done is really narrowed down the genetic pool, saysChad Dechow, one of the researchers.

The females havent fared much better. In fact, Dechowan associate professor of dairy cattle geneticsand others say there is so much genetic similarity among them, the effective population size is less than 50. If Holsteins were wild animals, that would put them in the category of critically endangered species.

After the Flood, in young earth creationists telling, there was a human population size of 8. At creation, the human population size was 2. The level of inbreeding that would have to take place to end up with a population of millions (and, today, billions) starting with population sizes of 2 or 8 is mind numbing.

Theres a reason there are high rates of certain genetic defects among the Amish population.

Currently, more than 50,000 Lancaster County Amish can trace their lineage to just 80 ancestors

Fewer ancestors mean more sharing of genetic material and any genetic defects the same linked to potentially fatal hereditary diseases like SCID contained therein.

Meanwhile, genetic defects not found in the settler population remain locally non-existent.

This isthe founder effect, and evidence of it has been found in Amish and Mennonite populations from Pennsylvania and Ohio to Ontario, Canada.

The founder effect, population bottlenecksthese are real things that affect real, actual genetics. Again, you probably learned about these things in high school.

The thing about the founder effect and population bottlenecks is thatthey result in the loss of genetic information.That is simply how it works.

Any elementary science student knows that genetic homogeneity isnt good in the long term. It increases the risk of inherited disorders while also reducing the ability of a population to evolve in the face of a changing environment. Dairy farmers struggling to pay bills today arent necessarily focusing on the evolutionary prospects of their animals, but Dechow and his colleagues were concerned enough that they wanted to look more closely at what traits had been lost.

Young earth creationists typically respond to concerns about population bottlenecks in one of two ways. The either argue that the original couples genes contained far more genetic diversity than our genes today, effectively canceling the bottleneck entirely, or they argue that the genetic diversity we see today is the result of random mutations in DNA over time.

Lets take the first argument first. Genes simply do not work like that. A population can have more genetic diversity, but an individual person cant. A population of fifty adults living in Bozeman, Montana, for example, is going to have less genetic diversity than a group of fifty adults chosen at random from every country in the western hemisphere. But an individual adult in Bozeman is not going to have more genetic diversity than an individual adult in Brazil, Honduras, or Haiti. Genetics does not work like that.

Now, the second argumentthat the genetic diversity we see today is the result of mutations. Most scientists believe that all Y chromosomes that exist today can be traced back to one Y chromosome that existed around 150,000 years ago. In other words, all men living today have a common ancestor, sometimes termed Y-chromosomal Adam. Young earth creationists argue the same thing, but they put this ancestor only 4,000 years ago. And that matters!

Imagine the rate of mutation required to get all the Y chromosomes we have today, in only 4,000 years!Ive said it before and Im sure Ill say it again: young earth creationists are far stronger believers in evolution than any evolutionary scientist Ive ever met.

Ill leave you with one last thing, from an Answers in Genesis article titled The genetic effects of the population bottleneck associated with the Genesis Flood:

There is one other consideration to make before we conclude the discussion of created diversity, however: the introduction of mutations to the population prior to Babel. Mutational load in children increases with the age of the father (due to the fact that older men pass on gametes that have gone through many more generations/genome copying events than younger men). Thus, any child born to an ancient person could theoretically carry many genetic differences from other people. Extrapolating from the data of Crow, a man 500 years of age would donate approximately 10,000 mutations to a child (the current average is two orders of magnitude less than that). Konget al.concluded that every extra year of paternity adds an average of about 2 additional mutations. This would mean Noah would only contribute slightly more than 1,000 mutations (40 baseline mutations + 500 years x 2) after age 500. But they also discuss models with an exponential mutational increase over time and only studied men under age 50. Either way, it could be said that Noah, by far the oldest to have fathered children recorded in biblical history, was genetic poison to the future world population, as he would be expected to have contributed many new mutations to each of his three sons (and possibly his daughters-in-law, if they were daughters).

Yes. Yes, they really went there.Its ok that all humans are descended from one coupleNoah and his wifebecause Noah fathered his three sons when he was 500 years old, so they would have had lots and lots of mutations. Yep.

What was that I said about young earth creationists being stronger believers in evolution than any evolutionary scientist out there?

I guess that gives us a solution for the Holstein dairy cows, anywayresearchers should just breed them when theyre super old and their genetic diversity will come back. Because Im sure thats exactly what will happen. (It does not work like that.)

I have a Patreon! Please support my writing!

See the original post here:
What Do Dairy Cows' Y Chromosomes Have to Do with Young Earth Creationism? Plenty. - Patheos

About the author: Felicia Vachon is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University.

We often think of culture as solely human. We think of our music, our clothes, our food, our languages. However, culture stretches far beyond Homo sapiens. As evidence of the existence of culture in other animal groups emerges (from insects, rats, fish to land mammals, primates and dolphins), humans need to rethink what it means to have culture. We must accept that what we have long considered our own might be shared.

This is especially important because culture can have important implications for conservation. Understanding an animals culture might be the only way to save them.

As a PhD candidate studying culture in a non-human species, the sperm whale, I have had the chance to witness its implications. The more time I spend with whales and learning from them, the more I am convinced that acknowledging their culture is necessary to understand and protect them.

Two sperm whales diving together. Felicia Vachon, Author provided

While most people have a general idea of what culture is, defining it can prove difficult. Culture is pervasive and, at the same time, it can express itself in such small, almost non-perceptible ways. Biology defines culture as shared information (or behaviour) that you acquire socially from your peers.

The importance of culture has long been recognized in humans. It is how we successfully inhabited all the biomes of our planet. Culture dictates our social interactions; the spontaneity of fashion and music; the laws that govern our societies and civilizations; the causes of our wars; the reason why, right now, you are reading this article instead of foraging in the forest.

Sperm whales in Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean. Shutterstock

Culture shapes every aspect of our lives and has allowed us to become the dominant species we are today. However, although humans might be the most cultural species, they are not the only cultural species.

Instead, culture expressed in small and big ways is found throughout the animal kingdom: chimpanzees in West Africa use tools to crack nuts, capuchin monkeys have group-specific social rituals, dolphins cooperate with fishermen to obtain food, songbirds and humpback whales have ever-changing songs, bighorn sheep follow cultural migratory routes, reef fishes have preferred mating sites, bumblebees learn from each other to solve complex puzzles.

And this is only the very tip of the iceberg. Every year, more evidence emerges on to the presence of culture in animals.

Beyond primates, the animal group for which we have the most evidence of culture are the cetaceans (whales and dolphins). Among them, the sperm whale has received particular attention.

Like us, sperm whales have families, they have strong affiliations with a few individuals and they are extremely social. Such a social environment is the perfect substrate for culture.

Sperm whales are matrilineal, which means that females stay with their mothers, forming groups called social units. These social units are comprised of one or two families and are stable over their entire lives. They travel together, socialize together, forage together and learn from each other. Beyond social units, sperm whale societies are also organized at a higher tier called vocal clans. Vocal clans include thousands of individuals and can be recognized acoustically.

Whales from different vocal clans sound incredibly different!

Sperm whale fluke. Felicia Vachon, Author provided

The most exciting part, however, is that individuals from different vocal clans not only have extremely different repertoires but also do not associate with each other, even if they live in the same environment. For example, in the Eastern Caribbean where I study sperm whales, we know about two vocal clans: EC1 and EC2. These two vocal clans have been identified in the same area (around the island of Dominica) but have never been seen interacting with each other: not even once in the 15 years the Dominica Sperm Whale Project has been studying the population.

In contrast, social units that belong to the same vocal clans are regularly observed foraging and socializing together.

Why is that? They live in the same environment, so surely, these differences are not the result of geographic adaptations. Could it be genetics? The evidence says otherwise: genetics cant explain the variation in vocal repertoire. The only remaining explanation is culture. Perhaps whales actively choose to avoid whales from different vocal clans. They learn a specific vocal repertoire from their mothers and then only associate with individuals that share that same repertoire.

These short audio clips are from the two vocal clans present in the Caribbean: EC1 and EC2. While EC1 whales often make clicks in the pattern click-click-click-click-click, EC2 whales often make clicks in the pattern click-click-click-click-click. These patterns have the same number of clicks, but different tempos.

Culture has important implications for conservation. If a population is subdivided into cultural groups, then conservation efforts targeting only one group will lead to a loss of diversity.

Young sperm whale breaching. Felicia Vachon, Author provided

If cultural knowledge is mostly obtained from older matriarchs, then protecting these individuals at all costs should be our priority. If species are able to learn socially, they might respond differently to anthropogenic stressors. And yet, we seldom hear about it.

Acknowledging the presence of culture in other species would go against our anthropocentric view of the world: a world where humans are at the end of the evolutionary tree, smarter, more advanced and more important than other species.

It would blur the line between us and them. Once this occurs, how could we justify putting these cultural beings in cages, treating them as legal property and destroying their habitats? Perhaps it is time to re-think culture and acknowledge that other species might share what we long considered our own.

This article was first published on The Conversation, which features includes relevant and informed articles written by researchers and academics in their areas of expertise and edited by experienced journalists. Dalhousie University is a founding partner of The Conversation Canada, an online media outlet providing independent, high-quality explanatory journalism. Originally established in Australia in 2011, it has had more than 85 commissioning editors and 30,000-plus academics register as contributors. A full list of articles written by Dalhousie academics can be found onthe Conversation Canada website.

Go here to read the rest:
We need to understand the culture of whales so we can save them - Dal News