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Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

quantamagazine.org

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Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#71

Post by jibal »

an-allen wrote: post #33
SoftTalker wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think trying to "tune" your kids in any way is asking to be disappointed. My three kids could not be more different and they all have the same mother, grew up in the same house, etc. If "microRNA" profiles have any influence, I would wager it's very small.

But your kids will likely not have your insights and experiences so “tuning” is another word for broadening their awareness.

That is precisely the wrong sort of conclusion to draw from this clickbaity article.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#72

Post by tstrimple »

jjmarr wrote: post #24

> For instance, mouse fathers exposed to nicotine(opens a new tab) sire male pups with livers that are good at disarming not just nicotine but cocaine and other toxins as well. queue rationalist fathers microdosing nicotine patches before conception to give their kids the best chance at abusing drugs.

Damn. I didn't start substance abuse until after all my children were sired. Apparently I have done them an injustice by compromising their resistance to cocaine and other toxins. I have failed as a father!

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#73

Post by jibal »

xeromal wrote: post #14
websiteapi wrote: post #9

assuming this is true, perhaps it's best to freeze sperm regularly with labels that way if you go off the deep end you can snapshot quite literally your best self? some possible times - right before college, right after college, after you meet someone you think you'd marry (but before you do), after marriage. seems like a neat premise for a sci fi novella.

Makes me wonder if that's some of the influence that different siblings get? The first born gets more ambition, the middle child chills, and the baby acts like a boomer. jk. Honestly, sounds like a great read!

There isn't any specific way that boomers behave.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#74

Post by jibal »

PeterHolzwarth wrote: post #27
xeromal wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes me wonder if that's some of the influence that different siblings get? The first born gets more ambition, the middle child chills, and the baby acts like a boomer. jk. Honestly, sounds like a great read!

Adding "jk" after a casual prejudiced insult to a demographic doesn't undo the prejudiced insult.

You're right, and it's bizarre and sad that people don't even know what you mean.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#75

Post by MyOutfitIsVague »

shevy-java wrote: post #48

"researchers, including those spearheading the work, are cautious about overselling their results" Either it is correct; or it is not. Perhaps it is somewhat correct, but then it may not be fully correct, so it would contain wrong information. I write this here because science does not really work well when it is based on speculation. So this article is weird. It starts by speculating about something rather than anal…

There is plenty of room in science for research that is just to examine and collect data. I don't understand your argument that science should only be to demonstrate claims and "completing" theories. Is science not about experimenting to slowly form a more complete understanding about how our world works? Research that does little more than collect novel data and show probable correlations is still extremely valuable.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#76

Post by mmooss »

shevy-java wrote: post #48

"researchers, including those spearheading the work, are cautious about overselling their results" Either it is correct; or it is not. Perhaps it is somewhat correct, but then it may not be fully correct, so it would contain wrong information. I write this here because science does not really work well when it is based on speculation. So this article is weird. It starts by speculating about something rather than anal…

These flaws aren't failings of the article, but univeral to science, knowledge, and human endeavor:

> Either it is correct; or it is not. Perhaps it is somewhat correct, but then it may not be fully correct, so it would contain wrong information.

This describes all science and all knowledge; if that's not good enough, nothing is good enough. Everything somewhat correct and somewhat incorrect; the best stuff is much more of the former. Newton's Laws are mostly correct, somewhat incorrect.

> science does not really work well when it is based on speculation

Speculation is the foundation of science: it leads to an hypothesis, which leads to research, which leads to more speculation.

> their theory is incomplete as of yet. That's not good.

That also is the nature of all science. For example, papers include analyses of their own blind spots and weaknesses, and end with suggestions for further research by others.

> There are examples of where theories were lateron shown to be wrong.

That's also part of science and all human endeavor. If you disallow that, we might as well go back to being illiterate - everything we read is flawed, and inevitably some is wrong.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#77

Post by yes_man »

jibal wrote: post #68

> “This study shows that paternal exercise can confer benefits — enhanced endurance and metabolic health — to offspring,” So good habits can be good for offspring. > For instance, mouse fathers exposed to nicotine(opens a new tab) sire male pups with livers that are good at disarming not just nicotine but cocaine and other toxins as well. So bad habits can be good for offspring. > “We just don’t have really any under…

Theres huge uncertainty and layered assumptions in all of microbiology and biochemistry about how exactly things work on small scale. Because it is really hard to study live reactions in little things you can just barely see on an electron microscope.

But yet humanity has managed to assert statistical truths about for example genetics and explain countless diseases, even cure and alleviate some. So even if you don’t have a theory on how exactly something works from the ground up, if you have statistical evidence, plenty of useful and practical advances can be built top-bottom and we have outcomes that validate this.

Not giving any opinion on this piece specifically but just saying there can be scientific value even if the details are hand-wavy.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#78

Post by jibal »

sallveburrpi wrote: post #35
PeterHolzwarth wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding "jk" after a casual prejudiced insult to a demographic doesn't undo the prejudiced insult.

Which demographic was casually insulted here? The babies/third children?

Boomers. How can anyone not grasp that? It's as if the insult is like water to fish, so people don't even perceive it.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#79

Post by jibal »

xeromal wrote: post #29
PeterHolzwarth wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding "jk" after a casual prejudiced insult to a demographic doesn't undo the prejudiced insult.

I'm insulting myself. I'm describing what is my family dynamic.

No, you're insulting boomers, and you just doubled down.

Re: Fathers’ choices may be packaged and passed down in sperm RNA

#80

Post by roywiggins »

yes_man wrote: post #77
jibal wrote: post #68

> “This study shows that paternal exercise can confer benefits — enhanced endurance and metabolic health — to offspring,” So good habits can be good for offspring. > For instance, mouse fathers exposed to nicotine(opens a new tab) sire male pups with livers that are good at disarming not just nicotine but cocaine and other toxins as well. So bad habits can be good for offspring. > “We just don’t have really any under…

Theres huge uncertainty and layered assumptions in all of microbiology and biochemistry about how exactly things work on small scale. Because it is really hard to study live reactions in little things you can just barely see on an electron microscope. But yet humanity has managed to assert statistical truths about for example genetics and explain countless diseases, even cure and alleviate some. So even if you don’t…

For an example, scientists discovered both viruses and genetics long before they knew the molecular basis of either of them.
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