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Statements posted on this blog represent the views of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for Law Science & Innovation (which does not take positions on policy issues) or of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law or Arizona State University.

Technology Triple Trivia

TTT53 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers.

January 26, 2016

1. What might we be able to change with regard to our babies besides their diapers?

Hint:

Answer: our personal environment, including what we eat, if we exercise, education level and our genetic makeup might influence the way our kids turn out – from birth.   All these factors come into play in the way our genes express themselves.  The question is, how much credit should be given to parental epigenetic influences  (i.e. the environment-rooted expression of genes) with regard to offspring?  After all, young children are often at the mercy of their parents’ choices, including the amount of physical activity and the diet they receive.   It is not surprising to see overweight parents with overweight children.  Tall parents with tall children and so forth.  Yet could it be that the child of an obese parent could, nonetheless, be obese despite being fed a controlled diet?  Scientists are looking into whether such outcomes are due to, or greatly influenced by, environmental impacts on parents’ genes.   According to one study with mice, progeny of unhealthy paternal lineage tended  to be obese and unhealthy despite their own diets being controlled, due to parental environmental factors at play, determined when the sperm of the mice was analyzed.  Another study produced similar results.  Read more here.

2. What is trending at the FDA?

Hint:

Answer: a recent Personalized Medicine Coalition analysis notes an upward trend in drug approvals in the personalized medicine realm.  According to the Coalition’s Science Policy VP, “[t]his is more than a passing trend…[m]any people believe this is the future of medicine.”   We are unique and our cancers are unique.  The “one size fits all” treatment regimens are thankfully becoming a thing of the past.  Read the details here.

3. Afraid of heights?  What treatment procedure might have you zip-lining in no time?

Hint:

Answer: perfectly timed fear exposure and a propranolol cocktail may turn a fear into a distant, not so fearful memory — and may even erase it. Propranolol works by blocking the effects of norepinephrine in the brain, disrupting the way a feared memory is put back into storage after it is retrieved.  The next time it is brought back, the memory is not so scary or scary at all.  The dark side, however, is that there are drugs that do the opposite.  For instance, performance enhancers such as Ritalin and Adderall are being studied for releasing norepinephrine, thereby enhancing fears, and potentially contributing to conditions such as PTSD.  Researchers are looking into whether soldiers, who are already susceptible to PTSD through battlefield experience should be taking potential PTSD-promoting stimulants, use of which is popular among military personnel.  Read the story here.