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reiii · 01-31-2005, 03:17 PM

the reason I'm so cavalier in dismissing this study as garbage is that geneticists (like my former prof. who heads the lab I intern in) are extremely pessimistic about studies which infer connections by comparing only the sequences of DNA. Rest assured you can find some strange data if you do the right blast searches (which compare overall similarities in DNA sequences).

I would not be surprised if you could link people who ball their toilet paper before they wipe with a unique set of similar genes. These genes would be total garbage that have nothing to do with their behavior, but you can claim youve found the toilet balling genes. Before a researcher claims success in identifying a genes' function they must first explain the function in totality. Gene--protein--function-- down stream effects....

There is so much DNA out there and such powerful tools available for comparing sequences, you can find some remarkable and totally irrelevant coincidences.

01-31-2005, 03:17 PM	#42 (permalink)
reiii unstuck in time Location: Nashville/D.C.	the reason I'm so cavalier in dismissing this study as garbage is that geneticists (like my former prof. who heads the lab I intern in) are extremely pessimistic about studies which infer connections by comparing only the sequences of DNA. Rest assured you can find some strange data if you do the right blast searches (which compare overall similarities in DNA sequences). I would not be surprised if you could link people who ball their toilet paper before they wipe with a unique set of similar genes. These genes would be total garbage that have nothing to do with their behavior, but you can claim youve found the toilet balling genes. Before a researcher claims success in identifying a genes' function they must first explain the function in totality. Gene--protein--function-- down stream effects.... There is so much DNA out there and such powerful tools available for comparing sequences, you can find some remarkable and totally irrelevant coincidences. __________________ "Jombe? The chocolate icing" -hedonism bot Last edited by reiii; 01-31-2005 at 03:20 PM..