Category: Free will
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Die. Reborn. F**k your genes!
Is the secret to long life in a gene? We don't know, for now. A recent project to read the entire DNA sequence of 17 people aged 110 or older has found… there's nothing particularly different from ordinary folks. It is known that super-longevity is inheritable. It runs in families. An analysis of twins suggests…
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Fate, Intelligence, Bombs.
On a bright fall day last year off the coast of Southern California, an Air Force B-1 bomber launched an experimental missile that may herald the future of warfare. Initially, pilots aboard the plane directed the missile, but halfway to its destination, it severed communication with its operators. Alone, without human oversight, the missile decided…
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DNA. epigenetics, gods...
Researchers at the BBSRC-funded Babraham Institute, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Single Cell Genomics Centre, have developed a powerful new single-cell technique to help investigate how the environment affects our development and the traits we inherit from our parents. The technique can be used to map all of the 'epigenetic marks' on…
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Left handed. Right handed. Human.
Men born in November, December or January are more likely of being left-handed than during the rest of the year. While the genetic bases of handedness are still under debate, scientists obtained indirect evidence of a hormonal mechanism promoting left-handedness among men. (1) We believe we are bounded by our nature. We believe we are…
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Primates, brain stimulation, free will, dogmatism...
When electrical pulses are applied to the ventral tegmental area of their brain, macaques presented with two images change their preference from one image to the other. The study is the first to confirm a causal link between activity in the ventral tegmental area and choice behavior in primates. (1) My dogmatic atheist friend, Free…
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