Strollerderby

Browse by Tags

• Sylvia Plath's Son Takes His Own Life: Is Suicide Hereditary?

  News came this week (though it happened last week) of the suicide of Nicholas Hughes, son of famed poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. According to Frieda Hughes, the couple's surviving daughter, her brother, who was 47 and a professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, had been battling depresion for some time. But although his suicide may not have come as a shock to those who knew him and his personal sadness, it reverberated with a sickening familiarity when heard by those familiar with his parents' lives -- and it raises questions pyschologists and researchers are still trying to answer, including the big one: is suicide a hereditary act? Read More... Posted Mar 25 2009, 10:01 AM by Kate Tuttle with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: depression, heredity, suicide, mental illness, sylvia plath, nicholas hughes, ted hughes, frieda hughes

• Biology is Destiny

  Dear Children, I'd like to apologize about a couple of things right now. Most of these are beyond what you care about currently -- there will be no confessions about Spongebob or Blue -- but might become important when you're older. Read More... Posted Apr 16 2008, 11:00 AM by Adrienne Martini with | with no comments Filed under: science, heredity, biology, heart dieseas, color blind, baldness

• Is Being Hot a Hereditary Thing and Other Crap Science Headlines

  I've noticed that when we write about research studies, some of y'all express a certain amount of skepticism about the results. I can't say that I blame you, and lord knows I don't take the time to dissect each and every study to verify that the reporting meets the most rigorous standards. But I worry, cuz I'd hate for us to throw science out the window just because the way some studies get reported doesn't always fly. So here, let's look at a crap conclusion and see what the worst examples can be. The headline? "Is hotness an inherited trait? Sexiness is hereditary in the insect world — and maybe ours, too." Okay, "Like father, like son — sexy fathers can give rise to sexy sons in the insect world. Researchers suggest these findings might also apply to humans." Meaning... Read More... Posted Dec 10 2007, 03:31 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: research study, fathers and sons, genetics, heredity, bad science story, charisma

• Weekly Check-Up: Did Your Family History Give You Second Thoughts About a Family?

  Last week I was in a dressing room, and I overheard the salesperson in the next room talking to a customer. (What? No, I wasn't spying, they were talking loud and I was trying to distract myself from the fiasco that is trying on bras.) The salesperson was talking about her grown daughter, who struggled with drug addiction. "After she went into rehab I learned it can be genetic and skip generations," she told the other woman. "My mom was an alcoholic, but I'm not. If I had known about the genetics I never would have had children." "Oh, you don't mean that," clucked the woman. "Oh yes I do." said the salesperson firmly.  I've been thinking about this ever since. Nowadays the nature versus nurture debate... Read More... Posted Oct 25 2007, 08:34 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: depression, genetics, heredity, alcoholism, weekly check up

• Study: Drug Addiction Pre-Determined at Birth

  Having a healthy skepticism when it comes to new studies and especially any that generalize, I still had to pay attention (although with a grain of salt) to this new study about pre-determined physical traits that may lead to a vulnerability to drug abuse.  The study says that some babies are born with fewer dopamine receptors in the brain.  These receptors are the body's natural "brake" which prevent the inclination to take drugs from turning into action.  A person with fewer of them would likely be more naturally impulsive, which the scientists who led the study postulate that would therefore lead to increased likelihood of drug use.  I thought that this was a huge leap of assumption until I read this article about addiction and the role played by dopamine receptors. Genetic factors aside, what do you think we can do as parents to help prevent our children from becoming more susceptible than they already may be to addiction?  Is early education enough?  Posted Mar 03 2007, 06:51 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: babies, drug addiction, dopamine receptors, heredity