Archive for the 'wiki' Category

Scientists find key human language gene

Published on 12 November 2009 in science and wikinews. 0 Comments

This is an article I originally wrote for Wikinews here.

Rendering of the FOXP2 protein

Rendering of the FOXP2 protein


Researchers have found a crucial genetic difference between humans and chimps that could help explain our language and speech abilities. The difference lies in a gene called FOXP2 which encodes for a protein of the same name. This acts as a transcription factor, controlling the activity of other genes.

The human and chimp versions of the protein differ in only two of their 740 amino acid components, but when researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, replaced the human gene with the chimp version in neurons grown in the laboratory, they found it affected the expression of at least 116 other genes.

The results are detailed in a paper published on Thursday in the scientific journal Nature.

Author of the study Dr. Daniel Geschwind, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said the gene had a “major role” in differences between chimps and humans. “We showed that the human and chimp versions of FOXP2 not only look different but function differently too.”

Some of the affected genes control the formation of connections in the brain, whilst others relate to facial movements. Several have already been found to be involved in language disorders. Mutations in FOXP2 itself were also known to affect speech and language; the gene was first identified in members of a family suffering from language problems who were found to share a genetic mutation.

Frances Vargha-Khadem at University College London has studied patients with FOXP2 mutations, and agrees with the new research. As well as language problems, some of her subjects have changes in the shape of their jaws, mouths and tongues. She thinks that chimps may also have these differences.

“We believe FOXP2 is not only important for the higher order cognitive aspect of language but also for the motor aspect of speech and language,” said Genevieve Konopka, one of the authors of the paper at UCLA.

Previous research indicates that the changes in FOXP2 occurred around 200,000 years ago with the rise of modern humans. Geschwind also suggests that several of the related genes may have evolved together. Preliminary studies have shown signs that they too emerged relatively recently.

Scientists are now keen to further study FOXP2 and the genes that it affects. Geschwind believes this could eventually lead to breakthroughs in treatment for disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, which affect language skills.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the A.P. Giannini Foundation and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.


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An improved Wikimedia fundraiser

Published on 12 November 2009 in wiki. 2 Comments

That will be $250,000 plz WMF

Stub

Published on 14 October 2009 in wiki. 0 Comments

My new mission: To write a short article on ticket stubs. Then I can put at the bottom “this stub-related article is a stub”

Systemic bias

Published on 21 January 2009 in wiki. 2 Comments

Oh dear god, this is about the most depressing thing I’ve ever seen on Wikipedia. The diffs speak for themselves: [1] [2].
Same user, three minutes apart.

See also WikiProject Countering systemic bias for some glimmer of hope.

Wikipedia Day

Published on 15 January 2009 in wiki. 0 Comments

I’ve been following the Wiki dramahz going on today (and just spent a fruitless 20 mins trying to explain it to one of my housemates), but managed to completely miss that it’s Wikipedia’s 8th birthday! See the official blog. I can hardly believe it’s 8 years old, and even less that I’ve been there for almost half that time. Happy Wikipedia Day everyone!

Random article: Faddeev-Popov ghost

Published on 12 October 2008 in random article, science and wiki. 0 Comments

Things like this make me wonder if quantum physics isn’t all a hugely elaborate practical joke by scientists on the rest of us mere mortals. Negative probabilities? Seriously?

In physics, Faddeev-Popov ghosts (also called ghost fields) are additional fields which need to be introduced in the realization of gauge theories as consistent quantum field theories.

…

The Faddeev-Popov ghosts are sometimes referred to as “good ghosts“. The “bad ghosts” represent another, more general meaning of the word “ghost” in theoretical physics: states of negative norm—or fields with the wrong sign of the kinetic term, such as Pauli-Villars ghosts—whose existence allows the probabilities to be negative.

Random article: Rosenhan experiment

Published on 14 April 2008 in random article and wiki. 0 Comments

The Rosenhan experiment was a famous experiment into the validity of psychiatric diagnosis conducted by David Rosenhan in 1972. It was published in the journal Science under the title “On being sane in insane places.”

Rosenhan’s study consisted of two parts. The first involved the use of healthy associates or “pseudopatients,” who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states in various locations in the United States. The second involved asking staff at a psychiatric hospital to detect non-existent “fake” patients. In the first case hospital staff failed to detect a single pseudopatient, in the second the staff falsely detected large numbers of genuine patients as impostors. The study is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis.

40 percent bigger than Jesus

Published on 6 April 2008 in wiki. 1 Comment

John Lennon once aroused controversy, by claiming that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Well, over 40 years later he has been proven right, thanks to the wonderful Wikipedia traffic statistics. In February the article on The Beatles was more popular than that on Jesus, almost 40% more popular in fact.

The Beatles are just one of 254 things bigger than Jesus though. Others include Muhammad (whose image problems have likely helped him reach 23rd place in the rankings), Che Guevara (123rd), Lasers (172nd), Batman (206th) and of course interweb favourite 2 Girls 1 Cup (34th).

Random article: War of Jenkins’ Ear

Published on 13 February 2008 in random article and wiki. 0 Comments

The War of Jenkins’ Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748. After 1742 it merged into the larger War of the Austrian Succession.

Under the 1729 Treaty of Seville, the British had agreed not to trade with the Spanish colonies. To verify the treaty, the Spanish were permitted to board British vessels in Spanish waters. After one such incident in 1731, Robert Jenkins, captain of the ship Rebecca, claimed that the Spanish coast guard had severed his ear. The British government, which was determined to continue its drive toward commercial and military domination of the Atlantic basin, used this incident as an excuse to wage war against Spain in the Caribbean. In 1738 Jenkins exhibited his pickled ear to the House of Commons, whipping up war fever against Spain. To much cheering, the British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, reluctantly declared war on 23 October 1739.

Random article: Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Published on 26 September 2007 in random article and wiki. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index or The Justin O. Schmidt Pain Index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different Hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist for whom the index is named. Schmidt has published a number of papers on the subject and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging Hymenoptera.

Notably, Schmidt described some of the experiences in vivid and colorful detail: