[ExI] The tedium

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Rafal Smigrodzki via extropy-chat



 

>…Have you heard that 75% of all so-called sporadic Alzheimer's disease is actually caused by mutations in just one gene (and it's not amyloid)? It's ApoE. That's an amazing development, really puts into perspective how misguided most AD research was in the past 50 years.

-- 

Rafal Smigrodzki, MD-PhD
Schuyler Biotech PLLC

 

 

 

Rafal!  Welcome back!  We missed you bigtime.

 

One of the things I have been doing in the past few years is work out a way to use the commercial DNA kits (40 bucks) to create genetically accurate family trees.  With those, one can collect death certificates and any other available medical records from people who share DNA.  Given enough data, one can reliably work out one’s ancestry to around 1800, and in some cases before that if you have a pile of cousins (I do.)

 

23&Me tried this approach but failed, because they intentionally emphasized privacy.  This works against deriving genetically accurate family trees.  AncestryDNA intentionally de-emphasized privacy, making it easier to contact relatives and derive trees.  These two companies went at the problem two different ways.  AncestryDNA’s way worked, 23’s failed.

 

This has special significance in my own case, for I was able to find a cancer cluster and an Alzheimer’s cluster in my own family.  All of the cancer victims had two things in common: they all smoked, and they all lived in coal country.  Neither of those factors apply to me.  I don’t have Alzheimer’s.  Unfortunately, I forgot that I don’t have that.

 

Feel free to contact me offlist if you wish to know more.  Rafal, I know you, you ALWAYS want to know more.  

 

spike

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