D-brief

Reminders of Home Make Us Forget Our Second Language

When living in a foreign country, immigrants often find comfort in seeing things and people from home. But new research suggests that such familiar surroundings can also decrease one’s ability to speak the language of that foreign country.
Putting Language to the Test
Researchers conducted a series of experiments with Chinese immigrants now attending a university in the United States. Chinese participants had simulated conversations in English with both Chinese and Caucasian classmates. Whi …

Seriously, Science?

Can wearing sunglasses make you less of a jerk?

It’s easy to see that our feelings change our facial expressions. But can your facial expression change how you feel? Previous studies have suggested that this is the case, and that getting botox might actually make you happier because your resting facial expression is more pleasant. This study explores whether the frown-like face you make in bright sunlight can make you more aggressive. Turns out, it does–but fortunately, this effect can be prevented by wearing sunglasses.

Sun-induced f …

Gene Expression

Ancestry should not be subject to privacy restraints

In my earlier post on Prince William’s mtDNA lineage, and its possible Indian provenance, I didn’t address the issue of genetic privacy in much detail. The discussion is relevant in this case because BritainsDNA inferred his lineage by looking at distant relatives. Assuming that the biological pedigree we have for William is correct, he must share the mtDNA of his relatives who descend in an unbroken line from a common female ancestor.

A concern about the breach of privacy emerged almost imme …

Gene Expression

The Tuatara genome

The whole “genome paper” genre is probably in decline now, as sequencing is so easy that there is little value in just throwing out data with no questions attached. That being said I think the new project to sequence the Tuatara genome is pretty worthwhile. The reason is evident to the right, as this lineage represents an outgroup to many other reptiles. Not only that, but there is now dedicated blog devoted to the project. It’s nice to see science which aims to be out in the open. I wish the pr …

Gene Expression

The four Da Bomb hot sauces

Recently I tried four of the Da Bomb hot sauces. I was prompted by a story in The Los Angeles Times about a student who got in serious trouble for putting Da Bomb: The Final Answer into the marinara at a cafeteria. Coming in a >1 million Scoville units I can see why this is a serious offense. But Da Bomb features other lines as well. Here are the four I tried out recently with some friends:

- Da Bomb Ghost Pepper. This is a relatively mild sauce, and is more notable to me for its saltine …

Gene Expression

A true global village: the end of privacy in so many ways

Gina Kolata’s piece in The New York Times, Poking Holes in Genetic Privacy, is stirring a lot of debate. In the wake of the NSA leaks that makes sense. And genetic privacy has always been a “hot button” issue for obvious reasons, as personal genomics transforms from a futuristic projection to a ubiquitous part of our lives. It seems to me that there’s a spectrum of reasonable objection here. I don’t think it’s a big deal if you are exposed for your “true ethnicity.” Yes, if we lived in Nazi Germ …

Gene Expression

How opposed to nuclear energy are liberals?

The New York Times has a piece with the title A Rebel Filmmaker Tilts Conservative. What conservative tilt is being displayed here? It’s Pandora’s Promise, a film which serves as a sort apologia for nuclear power from environmentalists concerned about climate change. What confuses me is that I don’t understand the specifically conservative tilt here, as I have many friends who evince a nuclear-friendly tilt without seeming politically conservative. Perhaps a generation ago anti-nuclear sentiment …

Gene Expression

Open thread, June 16th, 2013

It’s father’s day. I stated earlier I can’t remember what it was like to not have my daughter in my life, but it is still strange to me that I’m a father, of all people.

For the record, I don’t think we should intervene in Syria at all. Most Americans seem to agree with me. But it may not matter. The establishment may force intervention.

Gene Expression

Perspectives on being a father

It’s been about a year and a half since I officially became a father. I put the official qualifier there because I knew I was going to become a father about two years ago, and many of the psychological changes probably began then. My own reflections and lessons are obviously influenced by my own specific situation. I am not the primary caregiver. It would be too pat to say that our family is the typical college educated sort in all its details, but it is not that far from the truth. My daug …

Out There

The Most Amazing Map You'll See Today (No Matter What Day It Is)

There are many way to celebrate your 70th birthday. You could sit down in front of a cake packed tight with flaming candles. You could go bowling with your buds wearing a T-shirt that says, “Over the hill–and picking up speed.” Or you could help put together the most amazing, three-dimensional map of the universe ever created.

Brent Tully opted for door #3.

Tully, a cosmologist at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, has probably done more than any other single living s …