A new company called Art.sy has built an art reference system called the Art Genome Project that allows web-users to discover new art based on their rated preferences. It is for art what companies like Pandora and Spotify are for music. NYTimes has the story
Through the hard work of UCLA Profs. Dan Blumstein (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) and Barbara Natterson-Horowitz (Cardiology), a growing Program in Evolutionary Medicine has been established. This exciting enterprise brings together faculty and students from across campus to collaborate and educate in the burgeoning field of evolutionary approaches to health and disease. Evolutionary medicine is an emerging field that combines…
Studies by the geneticist and social scientist James Fowler suggest that serotonin, the neurotransmitter connected to mood disorders and depression, is strongly implicated in voting behavior. Article covered in NYTimes Opinion by Victoria Bassetti.
As the price of sequencing an individual’s genome becomes as cheap as $1000, scientists and bioethicists discuss the risks and benefits of large populations of the public having their genome sequenced. Their concern addresses questions of accuracy and the risk of false positives as well as the potential of genetic discrimination for things like life and disability insurance. NPR covers…
A new IVF technique being debated in England uses three genetic parents to create an embryo. This procedure helps avoid possible mitochondrial disease, but some caution that it’s too soon to take such a radical new approach. Rueters has the story , HuffPost Live has a video
Okaganan Specialty Fruits Inc. has just has developed two genetically engineered varieties of green apples that will not turn brown after being sliced. These apples are poised to become the first to gain the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval leaving many to wonder – would an apple that doesn’t turn brown prevent us from telling whether it’s rotten? NPR covers…