ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 713
August 18, 2015
Scientists Discover Where The “Gist” Of Your Memories Are Stored
Photo credit:
ra2studio/Shutterstock
Unravelling the brain’s inner GPS earned a trio of scientists the Nobel Prize in medicine last year, but of course that did not mark the end to this complex story. Scientists have now added another important piece to this puzzle, gathering evidence of a kind of episodic memory diary in which the time and location of specific memories are recorded.
Researchers Discover Mechanism That Drives Going To Sleep And Waking Up
Photo credit:
An increase in sodium channel activity in the circadian neurons makes the brain wake up. Milles Studio/Shutterstock
We know that a tiny region in the hypothalamus of the brain is responsible for regulating one's "biological clock" through both neuronal and hormonal activity. The genetic basis for the circadian rhythm – roughly 24-hour cycles of physiological processes – has been well studied across a range of species, from bacteria to animals, but until now the mechanism determining the timing of sleep-wake cycles remained unknown.
Glass-Based Paint Could Stop Metal Surfaces Getting Too Hot In Sunlight
Photo credit:
The paint is applied in the form of a spray. ACS/JHUAPL.
We’ve all been there: You put your hand on a metal surface like a bench, slide or even a smartphone on a brilliantly sunny day, only to find that it's too hot to touch. An intriguing piece of research, though, has found a way to stop metal from heating up like this in sunlight.
Why People Oppose GMOs Even Though Science Says They Are Safe
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have met with enormous public opposition over the past two decades. Many people believe that GMOs are bad for their health – even poisonous – and that they damage the environment. This is in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence that proves that GMOs are safe to eat, and that they bring environmental benefits by making agriculture more sustainable. Why is there such a discrepancy between what the science tells us about GMOs, and what people think? To be sure, some concerns, such as herbicide resistance in weeds and the involvement of multinationals, are not without basis, but they are not specific to GMOs. Hence, another question we need to answer is why these arguments become more salient in the context of GMOs.
I recently published a paper, with a group of Belgian biotechnologists and philosophers from Ghent University, arguing that negative representations of GMOs are widespread and compelling because they are intuitively appealing. By tapping into intuitions and emotions that mostly work under the radar of conscious awareness, but are constituent of any normally functioning human mind, such representations become easy to think. They capture our attention, they are easily processed and remembered and thus stand a greater chance of being transmitted and becoming popular, even if they are untrue. Thus, many people oppose GMOs, in part, because it just makes sense that they would pose a threat.
In the paper, we identify several intuitions that may affect people’s perception of GMOs. Psychological essentialism, for instance, makes us think of DNA as an organism’s “essence” - an unobservable and immutable core that causes the organism’s behaviour and development and determines its identity. As such, when a gene is transferred between two distantly related species, people are likely to believe that this process will cause characteristics typical of the source organism to emerge in the recipient. For example, in an opinion survey in the United States, more than half of respondents said that a tomato modified with fish DNA would taste like fish (of course, it would not).
Essentialism clearly plays a role in public attitudes towards GMOs. People are typically more opposed to GM applications that involve the transfer of DNA between two different species (“transgenic”) than within the same species (“cisgenic”). Anti-GMO organizations, such as NGOs, exploit these intuitions by publishing images of tomatoes with fish tails or by telling the public that companies modify corn with scorpion DNA to make crispier cereals.
Intuitions about purposes and intentions also have an impact on people’s thinking about GMOs. They render us vulnerable to the idea that purely natural phenomena exist or happen for a purpose that is intended by some agent. These assumptions are part and parcel of religious beliefs, but in secular environments they lead people to regard nature as a beneficial process or entity that secures our wellbeing and that humans shouldn’t meddle with. In the context of opposition to GMOs, genetic modification is deemed “unnatural” and biotechnologists are accused of “playing God”. The popular term “Frankenfood” captures what is at stake: by going against the will of nature in an act of hubris, we are bound to bring enormous disaster upon ourselves.
Disgust also affects people’s attitudes towards GMOs. The emotion probably evolved, at least in part, as a pathogen avoidance mechanism, preventing the body from consuming or touching harmful substances. We feel repelled by things that possibly contain or indicate the presence of pathogens such as bodily fluids, rotten meat, and maggots. This would explain why disgust operates on a hair trigger: it is better to forego an edible meal under the misguided assumption that it is contaminated, than to consume sickening, or even lethal, food that is erroneously thought to be safe. Hence, disgust can be elicited by completely innocuous food.
GMOs probably trigger disgust because people view genetic modification as a contamination. The effect is enforced when the introduced DNA comes from a species that is generally deemed disgusting, such as rats or cockroaches. However, DNA is DNA, whatever its source. The impact of disgust explains why people feel more averse towards GM food than other GM applications, such as GM medicine. Once disgust is elicited, the argument that GMOs cause cancer or sterility, or that they will contaminate the environment, becomes very convincing and is often used. Disgust also affects moral judgments, leading people to condemn everyone who is involved with the development and commercialization of GM products. Because people have no conscious access to the emotional source of their judgments, they consequently look for arguments to rationalize them.
Our cognitive analysis is not intended to debunk every anti-GMO claim a priori. A particular GM application may have unwanted effects, which can also be the case with a product of organic or conventional farming. The risks and benefits should be assessed on a case-to-case basis, regardless of the process. The current applications have been proven to be safe. One may take issue with the involvement of multinationals or be concerned about herbicide resistance, but these issues have to do with how GM technology is sometimes applied and certainly do not warrant resistance to the technology and to GMOs in general. The emotional and intuitive basis of anti-GMO sentiments however prevents people from making these distinctions.
The impact of intuitions and emotions on people’s understanding of, and attitudes towards, GMOs has important implications for science education and communication. Because the mind is prone to distorting or rejecting scientific information in favour of more intuitive beliefs, simply transmitting the facts will not necessarily persuade people of the safety, or benefits, of GMOs, especially if people have been subjected to emotive, anti-GMO propaganda.
In the long run, education starting from a young age and specifically targeted at tackling common misconceptions might immunize the population against unsubstantiated anti-GMO messages. Other concerns can be addressed and discussed in the wider context of agricultural practices and the place of science and technology in society. However, for now, the best way to turn the tide and generate a more positive public response to GMOs is to play into people’s intuitions as well. For instance, emphasizing the benefits of current and future GM applications — improved soil structures because herbicide resistant crops require less or no tilling, higher income for farmers in developing countries, reduced vitamin A deficiency, virus and drought resistance, to name a few — might constitute the most effective approach to changing people’s minds. Given the benefits and promises of GM technology, such a change is much needed.
How DNA Detectives Are Helping Solve The Rise Of Superbugs
Photo credit:
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria. www.royaltystockphoto.com
It is now 12 years since the first set of genetic instructions in a human was sequenced. Many of our hopes for using knowledge about the human genome to better fight the likes of heart disease and cancer still lie years and decades in the future, but DNA sequencing in healthcare is not all about tomorrow. It is already revolutionising clinical microbiology. Most exciting of all, it is giving us an important tool in our battle with drug-resistant strains of bacteria.
Spare Your Health, Budget, And The Planet: Ditch The Palaeodiet
Photo credit:
Artist’s reconstruction of a stereotypical Palaeolithic camp scene with staple red meat. Wikimedia Commons
Interest in the diet of our evolutionary ancestors would ordinarily be a topic of curiosity in only the most obscure of scientific circles.
But the popularity of the so-called palaeodiet has brought unprecedented attention to the foods consumed by Stone Age or Palaeolithic people.
And, it might ultimately be doing us all more harm than good.
The palaeodiet is claimed to be a recipe for natural health and able to cure a vast range of diseases.
The Genetic Blueprint Of An Octopus Reveals Much About This Amazing Creature
Photo credit:
Octopus. Olga Visavi/Shutterstock
Octopuses are among the most impressive of the invertebrates thanks to their ability to solve puzzles, camouflage perfectly with their surroundings, mimic other species, use tools and potentially predict world cup victories.
August 16, 2015
Atheist Experience #931:
The Atheist Experience #931 for August 16th, 2015, with Matt Dillahunty and Tracie Harris.
We welcome your comments on the open blog thread for this show.
► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/
YouTube comments are at present disabled in our channel, to the displeasure of some. However, each video has a prominent link to the associated open thread that appears on our blog. In the past we’ve tried opening up the channel to comments, but we found that a very high number of episodes wound up being flooded with a combination of spam, long winded apologists, and various obscene or misogynistic comments directed at various hosts by people with an axe to grind. This seems to be the nature of YouTube comment sections, in our experience.
We do moderate the blog, the same way that we moderate chat during the show, as well as comments on our Facebook group. For comment sections that are “officially” associated with our show (and, to a much lesser extent, channels that may give the unintended appearance of being official), we prefer not to play host to straight up ad hominem attacks and bigotry. As a general policy we do not block commenters simply on the basis of disagreement with our point of view. However, we do prefer discussion environments that don’t actively chase off more reasonable contributors.
——-
The most up to date Atheist Experience videos can be found by visiting http://atheist-experience.com/archive/
You can read more about this show on the Atheist Experience blog:
► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/
WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?
The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.
The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.
We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.
VISIT THE ACA’S OFFICIAL WEB SITES
► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)
► http://www.atheist-experience.com (The Atheist Experience TV Show)
More shows and video clips can be found in the archive:
► http://www.atheist-experience.com/archive
DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via:
► http://www.atheist-community.org/products
MUSIC CREDITS
Theme song: “Listen to Reason,” written and performed by Bryan Steeksma.
► http://www.youtube.com/bryansteeksma
► http://www.myspace.com/bryansteeksma
NOTES
TheAtheistExperience is the official channel of The Atheist Experience. “The Atheist Experience” is a trademark of the ACA.
Copyright © 2014 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.
Watch What Happens When A Ball Of Red-Hot Nickel Is Placed On Floral Foam
Photo credit:
YouTube
We've shown you some of the very cool videos from Youtuber carsandwater before. He likes to place red-hot balls of nickel on various different objects, and film the results. You all seemed to enjoy watching a ball of nickel vs a gobstopper but this video using floral foam is even stranger. You would expect it to just fall straight through, right?
Well not quite.
Could this Liver Drug Slow Down Parkinson’s Disease?
By Amy Pullan-Sheffield
A drug used for decades to treat liver disease appears to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s disease, according to tests in fruit flies.
Researchers say the findings support the fast-tracking of the drug, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), for a clinical trial in Parkinson’s patients.
A mutation in the LRRK2 gene is the single most common inherited cause of Parkinson’s disease. However, the precise mechanism that leads to Parkinson’s is still unclear.
For the study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers demonstrated the beneficial effects of the drug in vivo using the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). In fruit flies, the mitochondrial defects caused by the LRRK2 mutation to dopaminergic neurons can be monitored through the progressive loss of visual function. Flies carrying the mutation maintained their visual response when fed with UDCA.
Read the full article by clicking the name of the source below.
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