Genetic testing to determine if Little Johnny should be a sprinter or marathoner?

This article talks about a single human gene affecting whether muscles are better suited for speed and power (such as sprinting) or longer-term strength, such as distance swimming or running marathons. There's now a commercially available genetic test, so parents now have the capacity to figure out which types of sports might best suit their child's genetic makeup. Is this the direction in which our world is moving? Are there ethical issues here? Would you test your kids?

Pregnant Man is Pregnant Again

Here is a story of Thomas Beattie - a "man" expecting his second child. This story is getting lots of media attention, though not many are really talking about the biology behind the story. Thomas was born a woman, but went through surgery and hormone treatment to become a male. He stopped taking hormones (testosterone in particular) to become pregnant.

An interesting situation pops up here.....Thomas is legally a man, though biologically female, and is married to a woman. But how do those favoring Prop 8 feel about this?

Frequency of blood types in different countries

Wikipedia lists the frequencies of different blood types in a number of countries across the globe. It's kind of interesting to see some of the regional differences. For instance, in China/Hong Kong and South Korea, it is extremely rare to have Rh- blood type. What might that mean for a person with Rh- blood who was traveling in those countries and needed a blood transfusion? Ireland has by far the largest percentage of O+ blood compared with any other country - it is notably higher than listed for the UK - what might that have to do with Ireland being an island nation? I wish there was data for some African countries and/or Southeast Asia...

Another article just in time for Halloween

I ran across this article in the NY Times, Still Spooked by High-fructose Corn Syrup. As a person who loves chocolate chip cookies and Dr. Pepper and basically a weakness for sweet stuff, I wasn't spooked until reading this article. A little food for thought before consuming all that halloween candy!

A Modern Day "Monkey Trial"

In 2004 the Dover Board of Education voted to include "Intelligent Design" in the science curriculum. This led to a historic First Amendment trial. Laurie Lebo, a reporter who covered the trial has written a book, "The Devil in Dover" about these events and trial. This fits directly in with our discussions about evolution and intelligent design. Read the interview and post a comment!

NFL players plagued with antibiotic-resistant Staph infections.

Here's a real life example of something we talked about at the beginning of the year - the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this case, many NFL players have been diagnosed with a particularly virulent strain of Staph known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Certain teams, such as the Cleveland Browns, seem to be particularly heavy hit by this dangerous infection. Read the article linked above to find out more.

Just in time for Halloween!

Well here's a fun little article to get your blood flowing, so to speak! Maybe Dracula had it right all along??? Read "A Taste for Blood!"