Tuesday, March 30, 2010

TIME: Anxiety of Influence

DNA. The final frontier. In 1953 James D. Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first correct double-helix model of DNA structure. Their double-helix, molecular model of DNA was then based on a single X-ray diffraction image. Deoxyribonucleic acid makes up all the characteristics in our body from our height to the color of our eyes.

All our offspring carry genetic information from both parents: half each actually. However it does seem to many people that children more from one parent than the other. Such is the case in this article. What intrigued me most while reading was a genetic-serving service, that takes your spit and from it tells you your genetic makeup. You may discover some very curious things about yourself: how sensitive you are to pain, how high your IQ is etc.

Although my father believes these tests are a miracle of God, I, personally don't believe in them as much. They do seem to help in the long-run: they may tell if you can develop cancer before it actually starts developing. However, I'll reserve my judgment until it is publicly employed.

The text in itself is quite humorous with well-structured arguments both against and for these tests. I will always read Joel Stein's articles from now on. Throughout it he used his own experiences to describe the spit tests. I will end this post with funniest thing I have ever read in TIME :

"Too bad there's no gene for awesomeness" Joel Stein

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