3 questions. 3 hints. 3 answers. Every Tuesday.
This Week’s Theme: a mixed bag.
Question: what recent discovery may impact one’s marriage assessment?
Hint: it’s all about the long and short of it…
Answer: a new study indicates that having at least one copy (we inherit 2) of the longer version of the 5-HTTLPR allele makes one less sensitive to negative emotions in marriage. By contrast, study participants with two short alleles were much more susceptible to emotions and tended to rate marital satisfaction based on experienced emotional highs and lows. Read the story here.
Question: what might terrorists hack within the human body?
Hint:
Answer: if you have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) you are fair game and could be subject to terrorist activity. So, in Dick Cheney’s case, his doctor ordered that the wireless function of his ICD be disabled in 2007 to reduce the risk of a successful terrorist attack. Often due to FDA red tape, medical devices are outdated and subject to security vulnerabilities given that software updates could run counter to FDA approval. An interesting read…involving potential and, possibly, actual…murder.
Question: is the glass half full or half empty?
Hint: look inside.
Answer: according to scientists, subjects of a study who had a particular form of the ADRA2B gene, in which certain amino acids are missing, experienced a more profound awareness of negative stimuli, resulting in a more pessimistic view of the world. It is suggested that people with the missing amino acids in the ADRA2B gene have more norepinephrine in the brain and, therefore, experience life more intensely. Read the details here.