Monthly Archives: September 2019

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 →

The largest study yet on the genetic basis of sexuality [see article plus two editorials, attached] has revealed five nucleotides within the human genome that are “linked to same-sex sexual behavior”; however, none of the markers was concluded to be … Continue reading →

Up to this point, current genetic engineering tools have not been able to handle long stretches of DNA. Restriction enzymes, the standard tool for cutting DNA, can snip chunks of genetic material, and join the ends, to form small circular … Continue reading →

Shared “stand-up” electric scooters are now being offered in many large cities as an option for short-term rental, and marketed for short-distance travel. Companies that distribute shared e-scooters tout the “environmental benefits of getting people out of cars” and “onto … Continue reading →

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that human complex diseases (e.g. type-2 diabetes, bipolar disorder, obesity) and multifactorial traits (e.g. height, drug response, response to environmental toxicants) are heritable and highly polygenic (i.e. caused by contributions from many genes). Usually, … Continue reading →

It is well known that the early human embryo is free of microorganisms, whereas the postweaning infant hosts a community of microbes — a microbiome — comparable in complexity to that in adults. How and when this symbiosis (system having … Continue reading →