Jezebel: dna

Teacher Invents Wallace/Gromit Brekky Machine • Aceh Considers Ban On Tight Trousers

Intern Katy — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EDT

• Design teacher Yuri Suzuki has created this truly awesome breakfast machine, which automatically cooks omelets from scratch, toasts bread, and brews fresh coffee. Suzuki says he was inspired by Hollywood films, including Back to the Future. •

• Muslim lawmakers in Aceh, Indonesia may soon forbid women from wearing tight trousers. Ramli Mansyur, regent of the district, says women who flout the law may have their pants "destroyed" and he has set aside 7,000 skirts for women unable to afford "proper attire." • Ever wondered how much you'ree getting paid to sit on the toilet? WorkPoop.com helpfully calculates exactly how much money per year you are make by hiding out in the stall at work. • As the average age of motherhood has risen, so has the number of cases of Down syndrome detected in the womb, according to a new study. However, fewer children are being born with Down syndrome, since the majority of women do not choose to carry the screened fetus to term. • A new study shows that Israeli Jews who survived World War II are at a higher risk for developing cancer than other Jews. Researchers speculate this may be due in part to the hardships endured in the Holocaust. • Women may be catching up to men in one unfortunate area: Heart disease. Up until recently, more men suffered from heart disease than women, who are protected by our hormone fluctuations, but with rising rates of obesity, women are making gains on men. • Amazing writer (and personal girlcrush) Alice Munro revealed last week that she has had heart bypass surgery and "just had cancer." For the sake of great literature, get well soon! • According to new statistics, there is a gap between the number of women in top positions in large law firms and the number of men. Above the Law has a few theories to explain the dearth of women rainmakers. • A rape victim who was assaulted 13 years ago testified yesterday against Richard Thomas, who is also accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in 2004. DNA confirms that Thomas raped both women. • A recent study suggests that anxiety during pregnancy may have an impact on the size of the baby. They found that women who suffered from severe chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have smaller babies than those who only reported low to moderate anxiety. • Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice have come together to write an op-ed for Politico detailing women's economic gains in the US and stating, "we must extend to all societies the universal right of women to choose their own fortunes." • According to a small study, extra testosterone makes men more miserly. The effect of seeing the Ghost of Christmas Past was not studied. • The city of Seoul is making an active effort to become more "woman friendly" through changes in a dozen sectors, from restrooms to workplaces. But many women feel that not enough has been done. "Personally I don't know where those 'women-friendly' places are," says one Korean woman. "I never see them." •

A new study suggests that transsexualism...

Maria — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:20:00 EDT

A new study suggests that transsexualism and gender identity development may be ingrained in our genetic makeup. A DNA analysis of 112 male-to-female transsexuals found that most had a longer version of the androgen receptor gene—a genetic trait that is associated with "less efficient" testosterone signaling. Recently, studies have found a biological basis for transsexualism in some people, including a study that found male-to-female transsexuals have a more "female like" brain structure. [BBC]

Wilma, I'm Home

Maria — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Want to look into the eyes of our female ancestors? Meet Wilma, the first model of a Neanderthal based on DNA evidence and created by artists and scientists for the October issue of National Geographic. Wilma's creators used replicas of pelvis and skull bones from Neanderthal females as well as re-sized copies of male bones to create a replica skeleton. Wilma was also given red hair and pale skin to fit with recent findings that some Neanderthals were of the ginger variety (she was named after the redheaded Flintstones character). [Daily Mail & chiKa project]

Something's Fishy

Dodai — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Kate Stoeckle and Louisa Strauss, who graduated from high school this year, have discovered that not all sushi fish is labeled properly. It started over dinner: Katie's dad, Dr. Stoeckle, works with DNA bar coding. "Could you bar code sushi?" Katie asked. He replied, "Yeah, I think you could — and if you did that, I think you’d be the first ones." Katie asked Louisa to help collect her samples. As Dr. Stoeckle put it, "It involved shopping and eating, in which they were already fluent." They went to 4 restaurants and 10 grocery stores in Manhattan, then sent tiny pieces of fish off to a lab in Ontario. Two of the 4 restaurants and 6 of the 10 grocery stores had sold mislabeled fish. White tuna turned out to be Mozambique tilapia. Roe supposedly from flying fish was actually from smelt. (And so on.) Know what you're getting, don't let your sushi chef off the hook! [NY Times, Reuters]

Last But Not Least

Dodai — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Scientists have completed the first sequencing of a woman's DNA. (Four male genomes have already been sequenced, the first in 2001.) The DNA belongs to Dr. Marjolein Kriek, a clinical geneticist at Leiden University Medical Centre. Professor Gert-Jan B van Ommen, leader of the team working on the project says, "If anyone could properly consider the ramifications of knowing his or her sequence, it is a clinical geneticist." The sequence mapping or decoding is important, van Ommen says, because, "While women don’t have a Y-chromosome, they have two X-chromosomes. As the X-chromosome is present as a single copy in half the population, the males, it has undergone a harsher selection in human evolution." It must be noted, however, that before scientists mapped a female genome, they sequenced the DNA of about a dozen mammals, including chimpanzees, dogs, cats, cows and a platypus. [Time, Science Daily]

SuperMoms

Dodai — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:45:00 EDT

The AP is reporting on a new study proving that nearly all of today's Native Americans — in North, Central and South America — can trace their ancestry back to 6 women. The women left a particular DNA legacy, passed only from mother to daughter, and immigrated to North America between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago. But the six "founding mothers" didn't live in Asia, because the DNA signatures they left behind aren't found there. Most likely, they were from Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that's between what are now Siberia and Alaska. Any Native Americans reading? My mom's half Chickasaw, yo! [Brietbart]

Jennifer Aniston Proves Wit And Charm Don't Matter In A Man: It's All About Having A Tight Ass

Jennifer — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:35:51 EDT

Jennifer Aniston just says no to that more rotund Vince Vaughn and picks herself up a male model named Paul Sculfor (who we show you almost-nudie, to the left) to date instead. [People.com]
A new development in stem cell research allows for cells to be removed without the destruction of human embryos. We assume Republicans will still find some reason to be against it. [ABC News]
We don't know about you, but we sure won't be sleeping soundly tonight knowing that The Rubber Band Bandit's been freed! [ABC News]
Our suspicions are confirmed: Only a man would think to put a woman in sequined hot pants. [ELLE.com]

The Price Is Right's Bob Barker will announce the Showcase Showdown no more. [USA Today]
But don't worry, Alec Trebek still digs doing Jeopardy. [Yahoo]
Researchers in England have found new ways to identify the most common serious diseases through DNA analyses. Our hypochondriac hearts just did a little dance in our chests. [BBC]
Now that's our kind of justice! A former judge was rigging divorce proceedings in exchange for boxes of Cubans. [CNN]
This Iraqi gallery owner has a better peace strategy than any other we've heard proposed yet. [NYT]
We really don't want to see Tony Blair naked, even if it is part of an art piece protesting the war in Iraq. [Yahoo]
A day in the life of a house cat... through the eyes of a house cat. [Boing Boing]
11 U.S. casualties identified today. [DoD]