How genes influence marijuana use

             

                 Members who smoked marijuana more than five times were studied. From this study, it was found that the use of marijuana is influenced by genetic factors. Marijuana has different effects such as anxiety, depression, confusion, delusions and euphoria. However, people have different reactions to marijuana. These different reactions depend on situational differences and chemical changes in the body. There is proof from animal research that a Drug reaction is influenced by genetics. For example, different kinds of genes control responses of motor stimulation. A research study has found that interaction among a small number of genetic loci or a single gene of major affect produces non-addictive genetic influences. The two factors of negative effects or pleasant effects are both influenced by genes and the environment. One of the genetically influenced factors that mediate the association between genotype and phenotype of this drug using behavior is because of genetic influence on subjective effects. In conclusion, for marijuana, the majority of genetic factors that contribute to the use of the drug also contribute to dependence symptoms. 

Link 1: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dcare/pdfs/fp/GreenAlan-HowDoGenesInfluenceMarijuanaUse.pdf 

Related link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1997.tb03372.x/abstract

How Many Different Forms of Autism Are There?

“'If you’ve seen one kid with autism, you’ve seen one kid with autism,’ meaning that it’s impossible to draw conclusions by looking at just a few people.” This article states that there are hundreds or even thousands of different types of autism based on genetic evidence. The range of symptoms of autism can be anywhere from high functioning to constant assistance. This study focuses on categorizing the different types of autism by the genes from which they originate, rather than the previous way of generalizing based on phenotypes.

The Simons Variation in Individuals Project (Simons VIP) characterized almost 200 people with variations on the 16p11.2 chromosomal region. “About 20 percent of individuals with deletions in this region and 10 percent with duplications have autism.” In the past couple of years it has been observed that a much larger study would need to be completed with more people. It has also become easier to look more closely at DNA by analyzing the protein-coding sequences of genomes (about 1% of close to 3 billion base pairs). Through this type of analysis it became clear that even with more than 2500 participants more would be needed. They never say the same sequence twice which makes it hard to categorize autism into distinct types.

The objective of this study, and many like it, is to not only distinguish between the different types of autism but to also find commonalities with in all of them. When this is done it would be easier to diagnose and find a potential treatment plan on an individual basis.

Article: http://www.wired.com/2014/11/autism-genetics/

Related Article: http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/initiatives/autism-genome-project

The role of genetics in our social interactions and environment

Nature vs. Nurture has been constantly applied to human interactions for decades. This article provides adequate detail about just how genetics has been apart of this process. The context of this work touches on issues such as how studies of the 5-HTT mutations can affect the person's emotions, more specifically how they can regulate them. Another main concern would be how our levels of oxytocin are controlled by inheritable genes or are they? There are millions of outcomes inside the human body that result from the intermixing of our parents genes. This article takes that idea a step further to see how the outside world can too make an influence on our genotypes and phenotypes. I find it very interesting that there are so many different factors that can affect how a person acts and matures to be. 

Source:  http://fx5ly8ju5l.search.serialssolutions.com

Another useful article that can be used to further explore this side of genetics can be found : http://www.sciencedaily.com