One's Math Ability Is Influenced By Genetics?

     In the article posted by Inverse, a German study was shared. In which it was found that a fifth of one's math ability is linked to the volume of gray matter on the right parietal cortex of the brain; which involves quantitative association. This study was conducted on 3-6 year-olds that were followed up on when they turned 7-9 years-old. The children were assessed mathematically and it was found that that the difference in math abilities was linked to the volume of gray matter within the brain. Therefore, the greater the volume of gray matter, the greater the mathematical abilities. The factor that linked math ability to genetics was that the amount of gray matter in the brain is influenced by the ROBO1 gene. Therefore, it was concluded that one's math ability is influenced by genes. I found this article to be very well written; the title was intriguing and I was very impressed by the data found. I do agree with this article, as there is no denying well-supported data, and as mentioned in the article nurture also plays a significant role in the quality of one's mathematical abilities. In my opinion, I believe that one's mathematical abilities could be influenced by genetics; however, the methods in which one fosters math concepts plays a much larger role. 

You Look Meow-velous in that Tuxedo

http://www.popsci.com/why-some-cats-look-like-they-are-wearing-tuxedos
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160106/ncomms10288/full/ncomms10288.html

To own a cat is to love one. These mysterious, beautiful, and arguably domesticated mammals have graced humans with their presence since as far back as 7500 BC. Although now, like dogs, there are many different breeds of cats, one ever-popular and recognizable appearance is the “tuxedo” cat. Cats with black/grey fur marked with white patches in this way are known as piebald. Piebaldism, caused by a mutation in the KIT gene, is also common in dogs, cows, horses and deer. However, it rarely occurs in humans.

Researchers at Oxford have been working on figuring out how these animals get their distinctive pattern. And it turns out that the mechanism for these patterns formations is far more random than originally believed.

Animals acquire piebaldism patterns when they are still developing embryos. Piebaldism arises when the precursors of pigment-producing cells spread incorrectly through the embryo. In normal development, pigment cells start near the back of the embryo and spread through its developing skin to the belly, the furthest point from where they started. As the cells spread they also multiply, creating more cells, some of which are left behind to ensure all the skin is pigmented. However, with piebaldism, the dark-colored pigment cells don’t make it as far as the belly in time to pigment the hair and skin. This results in distinctive white patches of fur and skin, usually around the belly of the animal.

Unlike what was previously believed, this study uncovered that cells in piebald animals migrate faster than in “normal” animals, but they do not divide as often. This leaves not enough cells to pigment all the areas of the developing embryo, hence the white bellies and faces. Using a mathematical model, these scientists were also able to demonstrate that pigment cells migrate randomly. 

This mathematical model created for this experiment has potential to be used to investigate other embryonic cell division, which can lead to many cancers and other debilitating diseases in humans such as Hirschsprung disease, Waardenburg syndrome and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

Although I am not a math wizard (unlike my sister), there is no arguing that utilizing a mathematical model can lead to a deeper understanding that would be impossible with just experiments alone. In this specific casr too, it also meant that the researchers did not need as many of the piebaldic animals as they would have had to used if just using an experiment model alone. Using a mathematical model therefore can cut down a lot on time and funds needed. However, my favorite part of this research article was definitely learning about cats! If you can’t tell, I’m a cat lady! In fact, the picture used for this post is my furbaby Mimi, who herself is a tuxedo kitty.   

MATH scores Used to Determine Cancer Aggressiveness

Cancer is defined as abnormal cells growing and multiplying as a result of a mutation in the genes that control their function. As these cells grow and multiply, more mutations are accumulated. As these mutations multiply, sub-populations of cells form in the tumor, each with their own mutational characteristics. This variability is known as intra-tumor heterogeneity, and results in worse prognoses for patients. This is because treatments today are targeted towards specific mutations, not clusters of many different mutations at occurring at once. 

To measure the severity of the cancer by the level of its intra-tumor heterogeneity, researchers at Ohio State University created a new scoring tool, called MATH (mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity). The higher the MATH score, the more genetic variability exists in the cancer cells. The study done was performed retrospectively on 305 individuals with head and neck cancers, and it was found that a 10% increase in MATH scores resulted in an 8.8 % higher likelihood of death. This new scoring method may help doctors identify the severity of cancer in patients and provide them with information to administer more effective treatment protocols.

Math Anxiety: The brain can feel the pain

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago, suggests that worry about math can trigger regions of the brain associated with the experience of physical pain and instinctive risk detection.  Ian Lyons and his team of researchers discovered that in people who experience high levels of anxiety when anticipating math tasks, encountering math increases activity in regions of the brain connected with the feeling of physical pain. The more elevated a person's math anxiety, the greater the appearance of neural activity is.  Researchers analyzed 14 adults who experienced anxiety from math based on their answers from a questionnaire about math.  Further testing revealed these individuals were not generally anxious and that their heightened feelings of anxiety were due to math-specific situations.  The study participants were then tested in an fMRI machine measuring their brain activity as they did math. They were asked to verify equations as well as solve world puzzles.  The fMRI scans showed the worry of upcoming math events triggered a response in the brain similar to physical pain. The higher the anxiety about math, the more math anticipation activated the posterior insula, a piece of tissue deep in the brain located above the ear, and is connected to acknowledging threats to the body as well as physical pain.  The researchers concluded that their findings suggest that it is not the act of performing a mathematical task that prompts this response, but rather the anticipation of math.