A study at the University of California at Irvine studied the affect of a certain variant of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene on driving. The gene supports communication in the brain cells and is associated with keeping memory strong. For people with a certain variant of the BDNF gene, this process works less than optimally, and those people are less likely to recover from a stroke. Roughly 30 percent of Americans possess that less optimal variant.

The researchers had 29 participants, 22 without the less optimal variant of the gene and seven with it, take a simulated driving test. In the simulator, participants had to loop a track and gradually learn its nuances. They then had them drive the same simulated track days later. Participants with the gene variant performed worse on the driving test; they did not stay on the course as well as the participants and remembered less about the track during the second test.

But even if this genetic variant does make you a worse driver, it has certain advantages. Some studies have found that people with the variant retain greater mental sharpness when faced with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Huntington's and multiple sclerosis.

[Physorg]

"Not that there's anything wrong with that. Writers like Ted Chiang and Gene Wolfe write brilliant books by breathing new literary life into these old tropes. But their concerns are ultimately moral. They're not interested in New Ideas About Everything as much as in the problems and choices those ideas pose.

"In the last thirty or so years, the only sub-genres of Science Fiction willing to take on new science and technology have been cyberpunk and its cousin ribofunk (addressing respectively info- and bio-tech.) But recently, both these sub-genres have been petering out because, I would argue, real-world progress in both those areas has been both too fast and too gradual: fast enough to make most writing obsolete shortly after, or even before, publication; too gradual to produce anything truly transformative for the long view (we're still waiting for AI, immersive VR, and genetically modified humans.)" - Dmitry Portnoy's Amazon.Com review of Neal Stephenson's Anathem [via Wading Through Treacle]

The volunteers are all participating in the Personal Genome Project, a Harvard study, which as we’ve mentioned before, is attempting to create a database of 100,000 human genomes. Although other services collect genomes as well, PGP has come to public attention for taking personal information in lieu of payment:

In exchange for the decoding of their DNA, participants agree to make it available to all — along with photographs, their disease histories, allergies, medications, ethnic backgrounds and a trove of other traits, called phenotypes, from food preferences to television viewing habits.

So what has prompted these volunteers to make so much of their personal lives publically available? Each possesses, in PGP head George Church’s estimation, the equivalent of at least a master’s degree in genetics, and many have an academic and/or financial interest in furthering genetic research:

• George Church, PhD, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences & Technology at Harvard and MIT, and head of PGP.
• Esther Dyson, technology entrepreneur and commentator, philanthropist, and future space tourist.
• Misha Angrist, PhD, Science Editor at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and author of The Genome Revolution: DNA, Health and Society.
• Keith Batchelder, MD, founder and CEO of Genomic Healthcare Strategies.
• Rosalynn Gill, PhD, founder and Chief Science Officer of Sciona.
• John Halamka, MD, MS, Chief Information Officer of the CareGroup Health System and Chief Information Officer and Dean for Technology at Harvard Medical School.
• Stanley Lapidus, Chairman and CEO of Helicos BioSciences Corp.
• Kirk Maxey, MD, manages the Donor Sibling Registry and the Cayman Biomedical Research Institute.
• James Sherley, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute.
• Steven Pinker, PhD, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.

While the “PGP 10” understand the benefits and consequences of posting this sort of information online, some fear that those who follow their lead won’t be so savvy:

“I’m concerned that this could make it seem easy and cool to put your information out there when there is still a lot of stigma associated with certain genetic traits,” said Kathy Hudson, director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University. “There will be new uses of this data that people can’t anticipate — and they can’t do anything to get it back.”

But some have already been lured in by PGP’s promise of a free genetic screening, which could tell them if they are predisposed toward certain diseases. In the latest issue of GQ, University of Illinois professor Richard Powers shares his own journey through PGP’s gene mapping process, including his decision to join the genetic database and what the geneticists found.

[Personal Genome Project]
Taking a Peek at the Experts’ Genetic Secrets [NY Times]
The Book of Me [GQ]

Researchers identified a particular variation of the COMT gene, which affects the brain’s ability to keep emotional responses in check. They tested 96 women for this variant and then showed them a series of pleasant, neutral, and aversive images:

The scientists found that those carrying two copies of it were significantly more startled by frightening images than others.

By contrast, those who had one copy of the gene and one copy of another version were able to keep their emotions in check far more readily.

This discovery explains more than your irrational fear of killer clowns. This version of the COMT gene is absent in our primate cousins, offering clues to the path of human evolution:

[Researcher Christian Montag] said the propensity to scare more easily could have offered an evolutionary advantage to humans.

While bravery appears to be prized in the animal kingdom, recklessness could have been a disadvantage to humans with their larger mental capacity to go away and figure a problem out.

Mr Montag said: "It was an advantage to be more anxious in a dangerous environment."

Horror film gene that makes some scream while others laugh [Daily Telegraph]