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"Possible impossibility of ever finding the faulty genes behind many mental illnesses"?
- blakeweb 18y agoSeems obvious once someone spells it out like that. The complexity in deciphering what genes correspond to what expressions makes sense given how chaotic evolutionary changes are.
- defen 18y agoNot really that surprising if you take seriously the idea that natural selection also applies to humans. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99feb/germs.htm http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99feb/germs.htm
- albertcardona 18y agoThe genome describes a complex network. The concept of "one gene, one protein, one effect", a.k.a. the "industrial gene" (measurable, attackable by drugs, patentable) only applies to genes at the tip of dead-end branches of the gene interaction tree, such as effector genes (the enzyme that defines the colors of a flower, for example), and even then not fully (unknown interactions always remain). The fallacy that all genes work in such simplified manner appeals to us because it's easy to understand.