Miscellaneous Reading Notes 2006
These are notes on other materials I read that are likely to be relevant.
[10% of obesity may be genetic] A Common Genetic Variant Is Associated with Adult and Childhood Obesity “Obesity is a heritable trait and a risk factor for many common diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. We used a dense whole-genome scan of DNA samples from the Framingham Heart Study participants to identify a common genetic variant near the INSIG2 gene associated with obesity. We have replicated the finding in four separate samples composed of individuals of Western European ancestry, African Americans, and children. The obesity-predisposing genotype is present in 10% of individuals.” [$20,000 bet to show living to one thousand years old is not possible] AGING BET “Pontin is challenging de Grey’s prescription for extending the useful human life span by hundreds of years by treating aging as an engineering problem susceptible to damage control. Pontin calls the theory, known as SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence), “outrageous and unverifiable.” Frustrated by scientists’ reluctance to criticize it in public, he proposed a contest last July. ..The original prize fund of $10,000 donated by the magazine doubled when The Methuselah Foundation, de Grey’s organization, tossed in an additional $10,000.”