banner
You are not using a standards compliant browser. Because of this you may notice minor glitches in the rendering of this page. Please upgrade to a compliant browser for optimal viewing:
Firefox
Internet Explorer 7
Safari (Mac and PC)
Press Release
Changes in monkeys' social status affect their genes


Thanks to Duke University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.



This press release has been viewed 1475 time(s).

Comments

cbjones1943
Maps and Phenogroups (MAP)
Rate Post:

Like 0 Dislike
Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 2:54 pm CDT

1. I have read this elegantly-designed research report.

2. I am not a specialist in genetics or genomics.

3. Gene Robinson edited this paper for PNAS, insuring its visibility by specialists and non-specialists.

4. This paper from Yoav Gilad's lab is not only a landmark in mammalian sociogenomics (MSG), but, also, raises numerous questions that highlight how far the MSG field has to go.

5. I consider it important that non-specialist readers understand the differences between what is happening in this paper compared to/contrasted to the sociogenomics research ongoing in Robinson's, and similar, labs studying non-mammalian taxa.

6. I consider two statements on page 5 (Early Edition) of the paper in question to be particularly unfortunate:

a. "...our results demonstrate that these associations, also, appear to be highly plastic." For several reasons, no (mainstream) scientific consensus exists about how to define "plastic", an increasingly obfuscating term. Related, the authors make no reference to the type of regulation that might be responsible for the observed "associations" among "neural, endocrine, and immune function". I consider this omission important because regulation of the observed "associations" might be some standardized mammalian or vertebrate mechanism capable of combinatorial effects (in this case, re-combinations of "neural, endocrine, and immune" responses).

b. "These observations indicate that any causal [sic] relationship between dominance rank and gene regulation likely begins with rank, rather than vice versa." The report provides no evidence to support such a claim that, like comment "a" above, runs a risk of reinforcing slippery and unclear formulations about the nature, role, generation, directionality (ies), primacy, etc. of "responsive" phenotypes.

7. Notwithstanding, future work on MSG from Gilad's and other labs is eagerly anticipated.  

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cbjones1943

Add Comment?
Comments are closed 2 weeks after initial post.
Friends