Author Archives: DWN

The theme of these GEITP pages (in a broad sense) is gene-environment interactions, and how they can be understood, and further elucidated, by using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). This article [see attached] reminds me of a story: [The drunk fellow … Continue reading →

These GEITP pages have often described genome-wide association studies (GWAS), because they provide information about what genes are correlated with any multifactorial trait (phenotype) — these can include complex diseases (e.g. obesity, type-2 diabetes, coronary arter disease), quantitative traits (e.g. … Continue reading →

The basic principles of genetics (inheritance and independent segregation) were first discovered and detailed by Gregor Mendel’s meticulous studes of the pea plant in the 1850s and 1860s. Generations of students have learned about dominant and recessive traits — through … Continue reading →

This is a follow-up editorial by the same author; there are some further pearls of wisdom in this article. Scientific research is not always “a process of rolling, powerfully and inevitably forward”, but rather “oddly fragile”. Once we have a … Continue reading →

From the time of the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) on macular degeneration (form of blindness that can occur with increasing age) in 2005, there have now been more than 3,000 GWAS studies published, selecting more than 1,000 traits, and … Continue reading →

These GEITP pages have discussed numerous publications on the importance of the microbiome — which we believe is (in every animal) an excellent example of gene-environment interactions. It is now well accepted that the microbiota has essential metabolic and immunological … Continue reading →

These GEITP pages, from time to time, highlight a particularly exciting breakthrough in developmental biology [see attached article and editorial]. Single-cell RNA-sequencing methods are revolutionizing our understanding of how cells are specified to become definitive tissues during development. Such studies … Continue reading →

One constant theme of these GEITP pages is the contribution — of genetics, epigenetic factors, environmental effects, endogenous influences, and the microbiome — to any multifactorial trait (phenotype). Multifactorial traits include complex diseases (e.g. schizophrenia, obesity), quantitative traits (e.g. height, … Continue reading →

This is a letter from Professor Guus Berkhout, representing 500 scientists, to two top officials at the United Nations — telling them there is no climate emergency — contrary to what that 14-year-old Swedish child, Greta Thunberg, was hysterical about … Continue reading →

These GEITP pages have often discussed the microbiome, because of its direct relationship to our gene-environment interactions theme. Molded by both host biology and the physical relationship between mother and child, an important microbial connection is formed at the earliest … Continue reading →