Those close to me know about the recent fiasco regarding the neuroscience program forcing my colleagues and I to retract an abstract we sent to the Society for Neuroscience meeting this year.
The abstract, entitled,"From cell fate to human fate decisions: the role of notch signaling in global conflicts," was a satirical poke at contemporary neuroscience by claiming that all human wars are the result of one gene, Notch, which is required for nervous system development.
The point of the abstract was to point out how easy it is to exaggerate the importance of single proteins and genes in the function of the human mind. True, Notch definitely is responsible for human wars (because we wouldn't have functional brains without it), but a lot of other genes and factors, to understate it, are required as well.
And, true to form, look what appeared in the November 7th issue of Science Magazine in a article entitled "Genes and Social Behavior." The figure that explains it all. We should all stop working; it's all figured out.
2 comments:
That's it, I quit!
Well, since this is all put to rest could we trouble you to work a bit on cancer now? Thank you.
The People of Earth
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