Free Radicals
FOOD V MOOD How teenagers’ unhealthy diets could be contributing to high levels of mental health problems
MONTHLY 22 March 2017
THE MOLECULAR TOOLBOX A new technique to edit the source code of life
THE SECRET OF SLEEP What is really going on in our minds when we shut our eyes?
Issue 1/1 £Priceless
BRAVE NEW WORLD OF LOVE ‘Scientific’ dating websites: where is the proof? 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 1
Free Radicals EDITORIAL
Managing Editor Nicola Fowler nicola.fowler15@bathspa.ac.uk Art Director Amy Barrett amy.barrett15@bathspa.ac.uk Online Manager Isaac Parr isaac.parr15@bathspa.ac.uk
CONTRIBUTORS Rose-Louise Downey
CONTENTS 4
Bethany Hodges Rowan Arthur
CONTACT 0300 300 0300 We take great care to ensure all elements of Free Radicals are accurate. However, we accept no liability for any misprints or mistakes that appear. Please note prices may vary from retailer to retailer and from region to region. It will be assumed any letters sent to the magazine are intended for publication unless otherwise stated. Next month’s contents is subject to change. Front cover image: Dreaming © Sean. Stein, Flickr
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Food v Mood
Teenagers’ unhealthy diets could be contributing to high levels of depression and anxiety/mental health problems
The Secret of Sleep
What happens to our minds and bodies while we sleep? A cognitive neuroscientist provides the answers
The Molecular Toolbox
The potential for CRISPR gene editing to make us healthier by removing genetic diseases
Brave New World of Love
Some dating websites claim to be scientific, but where is the research behind them?
Teenagers in Britain are suffering from record rates of anxiety and depression, and the problem is worse for girls
Food v mood With 10 per cent of young people in the UK suffering from mental health issues, could our teenagers’ unhealthy eating habits be contributing to high rates of depression and anxiety
It may come as no surprise to learn that the daily diets of Britain’s teenagers are far from perfect. Hardly a week goes by without reports of young people who are overweight or obese; one quarter of those aged 13–15 now fit into this category. The focus of concern is usually on the physical damage being inflicted on their bodies, particularly as the unhealthy teenagers of today are likely to become the unhealthy adults of tomorrow. However, a look at the deficiencies in their diets reveals that their mental health may be suffering too. Is it just coincidence that levels of depression and anxiety among British teenagers have gone up while the quality of their diets has gone down? The charity Young Minds reveals that 850,000 children aged 16 or under have mental health problems, with around 300,000 suffering from anxiety and 80,000 diagnosed with severe depression. Teenage girls are around twice as likely as boys in the same age group to suffer from depression. While there may be many contributing factors, recent research would 4 | Free Radicals | 22 March 2017
seem to indicate that diet could play a large part. The National Diet and Nutrition Survey, carried out annually by Public Health England, reports that young people – especially girls – aged 11–18 have the worst diets of all age groups. Fruit and vegetable consumption is particularly low and, as a result, vitamins and minerals that are essential for the proper development, maintenance and functioning of the brain are also lacking. All over the Western world, teenagers are eschewing healthy, nutrient-rich foods and replacing them with highly-processed ‘junk’, washed down with copious quantities of sugary beverages. The teenage years are ones of rapid change, both physical and psychological. It is also often the time when mental health disorders first become apparent. Several studies suggest that adolescence is a critical time for the maturation of certain important brain functions, and inadequate nutrition during these years can be detrimental. Research has shown that many people diagnosed with depression and anxiety
FOOD & NUTRITION
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disorders are deficient in a variety of nutrients, and malnutrition is now recognised as a key contributor to these conditions. Fruits and vegetables help by providing the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E which can stabilise potentially brain-damaging free radicals. Only eight per cent of 11–18 year olds are eating the recommended five-a-day; on average, they are managing a little over half that amount. The B vitamin, folate, is considered critical for the various chemical reactions that take place in brain cells. Studies have shown that people with symptoms of depression have blood folate levels which are around 25 per cent lower than in healthy individuals. Good sources include liver, leafy green vegetables, parsnips and oranges, plus some fortified grain and cereal products. However, nearly 10 per cent of British teenage girls and 5 per cent of teenage boys are not getting enough. 6 | Free Radicals | 22 March 2017
Anaemia from iron deficiency is understood to contribute towards depression and general fatigue. Iron is essential to transport oxygen around the body via the haemoglobin in red blood cells. It also facilitates the production
considered ‘worrying’ by the British Dietetic Association, especially as they are susceptible to additional loss of iron during menstruation. Iron is not the only brain-friendly mineral being given the cold-shoulder. Teenage diets
Adolescence is a critical time for the maturation of certain important brain functions, and inadequate nutrition during these years be detrimental of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine – the so-called ‘feel good’ hormones. Yet, 48 per cent of teenage girls in Britain have intakes below the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake (or LRNI) which is the bare minimum considered sufficient for only a tiny fraction of the population. This lack of iron in girls is
are also lacking in iodine, selenium and zinc, which are associated with good mental health. Omega-3 fatty acids are currently the focus of much research into brain development and function. These polyunsaturated fatty acids (or PUFAs) are found primarily in oily fish and are major structural components of brain
Modern teenage diets are often full of highly processed foods which are lacking in the nutrients essential for good mental health
eaten instead. Studies have found that the consumption of refined and highly processed food, often containing a lot of sugar and fat, is also associated with depression and low mood. One piece of research looked at depression in women and its relationship with foods which have high glycaemic index (GI) scores. The GI rates foods according to how quickly they raise blood sugar levels: foods that are high in glucose or that are quickly converted to glucose have a higher GI than foods low in glucose. Whole grains and most fruits and vegetables tend to have lower GI values because the fibre they contain slows down the rate of glucose metabolism. The study found that diets high in ‘added sugars’ and refined grains were strongly associated with increased incidence of depression. However, foods that contain naturally-occurring sugars, such as lactose in dairy and fructose in fruit, were associated with a lower risk of depression. When blood glucose levels rise, insulin is released to drive the excess glucose into cells to restore blood levels to normal. A sudden spike in glucose can result in too much insulin being produced, which can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low. This sets off the release of certain hormones which can lead to anxiety and irritability. It would seem that the more often this happens, the more quickly the body reacts to glucose. Since nearly 38 per cent of women in the UK attribute mood swings, fatigue and other mental problems to low blood sugar, it is not unreasonable to think it might be affecting teenagers in a similar way.
The PUFA ratio
cells. They are vital for the initial development of the brain and there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that they can help to promote lifelong good mental health. Some scientists believe that one of these fatty acids, known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), should be thought of as a ‘semi-essential nutrient’; that is, one that should form part of the diet because it cannot be made in the body in sufficient amounts to promote optimal health. The main source of DHA is oily fish, and the recommendation is to include at least one portion of oily fish in the diet per week. But current research shows that, on average, 11–18 year olds are consuming just one portion of oily fish per month. It is not just what is being left off the menu that is having such a detrimental effect on the mental wellbeing of teenagers. Equally important are the types of foods that are being
Inflammation in the body is generally associated with ill-health, and many depressed people have high levels of inflammation. It is believed that the omega-3 PUFAs could help to reduce inflammation, but – as we have seen – teenage diets are sadly lacking in the oily fish that contains these brain-friendly fatty acids. The modern Western diet is, however, a good source of the pro-inflammatory omega-6 PUFAs due to the ubiquitous use of vegetable oils in fried and processed food, such as safflower, sunflower and corn oil. The dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids for our ancestors would have been around 1–2:1. However, modern diets in the Western world feature a ratio of around 20–30:1. It has been suggested that this imbalance could be contributing to a range of mental health problems in teenagers, including depression and other mood and social disorders. So, what is the optimal diet for promoting good mental health in teenagers? Experts believe that following the much-vaunted Mediterranean diet could offer the best solution. People who live around the Mediterranean traditionally have diets based
on vegetables, fruits, beans and pulses, whole grains, fish and olive oil. They also have a low consumption of red meat, processed foods and vegetable oils. Many studies show that this type of diet is protective against a range of physical health problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers. Recent research suggests that these foods may be good for mental health too. Scientists know that vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids are essential for early brain formation, but it now seems they are important for brain function throughout life. As understanding of the brain develops, so does the role of nutrients involved in its complex physical and biochemical processes. For example, vitamins and minerals are involved in mechanisms that inhibit inflammation in the brain. In addition, plant foods contain antioxidant compounds called phytochemicals, which are now also being investigated for their role in enzyme activity and their influence on brain cells. Much of the research so far into food and mood has involved supplements rather than actual foods or dietary patterns. While this is useful for research, the reductionist approach may be limited in the real world. Most of the evidence suggests that nutrients are more effective in combination and in the context of a healthy, varied diet. It is evident that something needs to be done. The World Health Organisation is predicting that, by 2020, depression will be the second leading contributor to disability worldwide, and by 2030 it is expected to be the leading burden on society. Many teenagers who develop mental health problems will continue to suffer from the consequences throughout their lives as they struggle to hold down jobs, maintain relationships and take an active part in society. Of course, there are many aspects of modern life that could be blamed for the rising incidence of depression and anxiety among young people, and diet is only one of them. However, it is one we can do something about. It should not be difficult to provide teenagers with the knowledge to understand what constitutes a healthy diet, and to ensure they have access to good food. Addressing unhealthy eating habits during the teenage years could make the difference between a lifetime of good mental health, or a bleak and unfulfilled future. Can we really afford to ignore this problem any longer?
About the author
Nicola Fowler has had a career in the food industry for more than 20 years. She is particularly interested in the relationship between food and health, and is studying Human Nutrition at Bath Spa University. 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 7
THE SECRET OF SLEEP What happens to our minds and bodies during our non-waking hours? Amy Barrett meets cognitive neuroscientist Dr Matt Jones to talk about the importance of getting a good night’s sleep
While we dream our minds are busy consolidating the day’s events into lasting memories
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© Sean Stien, Flickr
EXPERT INTERVIEW
22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 9
ON AVERAGE WE WILL spend one third of our lives asleep. We can survive for longer without food than sleep yet we often neglect our bedtime routines. It becomes habit to sacrifice a good night’s sleep for a party, to work late or for an all-night study session. Dr Matt Jones, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, is currently looking into the effects of sleep on our brains. “My particular focus is on the role of brain activity during sleep in supporting learning and memory. But there’s much more to sleep than that.” A good night’s sleep will help us to study and work more efficiently, and we’re all in a better mood if we have woken up feeling refreshed. Though we might not be able to describe the how or why, we know that during sleep our bodies repair cells and tissues. A good night’s sleep encourages a stronger immune system while a bad night’s sleep can even contribute to weight gain. And the effects of sleep deprivation aren’t just internal: tiredness causes more deaths on the road than alcohol or drugs. People who sleep for 6–7 hours a night are twice as likely to be involved in a car accident than their alert counterparts getting the full eight hours’ sleep (according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety). Drivers will always take to the wheel drowsy, with 37 per cent of people saying they have fallen asleep while driving (National Sleep Foundation poll, 2005). Dr Jones briefly describes what changes occur in the brain when we sleep: “It’s kind of surprising that sleep isn’t like turning the volume down on the brain, but actually many parts of the brain are more active during sleep than they are during waking hours. Broadly speaking, sleeps roles can be subdivided into metabolic and restorative versus information processing or cognition. What happens to the brain during sleep very much depends on 10 | Free Radicals | 22 March 2017
which part of the brain you are looking at, and which stage the brain is at in sleep.” Sleep is subdivided into Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM stages, and the pattern of brain activity during those stages is very different. During REM sleep our brain activity looks similar to that of someone who is awake. Whereas in non-REM sleep our brain is expertly working, with stage 2 of non-REM showing peaks of high-frequency brain activity, correlating to the process of memory consolidation. Stage 3 appears as low waves with our heart rate and blood pressure drooping into a truly deep sleep. Some people believe sleep is essential to ‘gist’ learning – drawing general conclusions about what’s going on in your world based on individual experiences. “Obviously we don’t actively encode new information during sleep,” comments Dr Jones, “but we do actively process information that has been recently acquired into memory. Sleep offers an opportunity for the brain to do its filing – sort the wheat from the chaff, latch onto important stuff, integrate
memory consolidation. And it makes sense that salient, or important features of your life, like unexpectedly stumbling onto a pot of chocolate, are the kinds of things that you’ll then consolidate during sleep so that you can act on them in the future. On the negative side, aversive experiences and traumatic memories are also processed during sleep.” Dr Jones’s research has focused on the connection between sleep and psychiatric disorders, primarily schizophrenia. Since it was first described clinically it has been acknowledged that schizophrenia patients suffer from sleep problems. “But the nature of those problems has remained enigmatic. It’s also more complicated because many of the drugs that people are given to treat schizophrenia (anti-psychotic drugs, for example) also have an impact on sleep, so it’s hard to disentangle what is causal (what is part of the disease) and what’s downstream of the disease.” In a recent study with a lab at Harvard Medical School, Dr Jones’s team recorded sleep EEG (brain activity data that shows when
Imagine a future where people with sleep problems have the ability to control their brain activity during the night using a simple household item different memories that have been learned independently but have elements in common.” How does the brain decide what’s important to keep and what isn’t? As for most things in the field of neurological science, there isn’t a categorical answer. But as Dr Jones explains, “there’s good evidence that, for example, information about rewarding experiences that you’ve enjoyed during wake will be reactivated during sleep and processed in
people are awake or asleep, and subdivides activity into non-REM and REM stages) from a cohort of schizophrenia patients. They found that brain activity was disconnected in a way that meant memories were not being consolidated, and that different parts of the brain weren’t ‘tuning in’ to each other in the way they would for a healthy individual. This study was relatively small scale, and the patients taking part were on a range of
medications, it was difficult to interpret the results definitively. Dr Jones hopes that by studying healthy individuals whose genes put them at risk of developing schizophrenia it can help us to understand the connection between schizophrenia and sleep. “One study being run at the moment looks at these people, and we’re also starting to pick out abnormalities – only subtle ones but, given that we sleep every night, over the course of our entire lives, a subtle abnormality can have a large cumulative effect.” These findings have led Dr Jones to consider ways that they can re-coordinate brain activity in those people who are at risk of developing schizophrenia. “Some drugs have the potential to help. Obviously there are lots of drugs that make you sleep more, but they don’t always improve the quality of sleep in terms of what’s going on in the brain. Actually, there are some drugs like benzodiazepines for example, which historically were used to help people sleep more, that disrupt brain activity and compromise some aspects of sleep’s function.” Dr Jones and his team are even working on ways to directly control the brain’s activity during sleep using stimulation. “There are quite a lot of people around the globe doing this kind of work. If you play auditory tones, just brief, quiet bleeps during the night, without waking people up you can actually influence the timing of brain activity. And if you implement a feedback control system (using EEG to record brain activity) and at the right time relative to that brain activity you play a tone you can use that to kind of reset the system and synchronise things. So that’s what we’re working on at the moment – we and many other scientists around the globe. “I imagine a scenario in the near future where healthy people, who may have sleep
© m01229, Flickr
© David Goehring, Flickr
[left] Is this the look of our future? Sleep headbands that could encourage brain activity [right] Checking your phone at night results in poor quality sleep, research shows [opposite] Dr Matt Jones in his office at the University of Bristol
that from a neurophysiological perspective is not optimised, could just wear a headband that is recording brain activity; very comfortable, non-invasive, maybe have a little ear piece that’s feedback controlled from that headband, which could improve the quality of your sleep.”
Sleep habits
So has Dr Jones’s research influenced his own bedtime routines? He laughs. “I’m slightly embarrassed to say other than buying a much more expensive pillow, my research hasn’t had much of an impact on me, I lead a pretty dull life anyway! But it does make me think twice about optimising my approach to bedtime. We all know from experience that if you’re working late, staring at a computer screen, right before you go to bed then you tend not to sleep so well. I’d like to try to avoid that, but I’m not so good at it!” He isn’t the only one: a poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that 51 per cent of Brits are getting less sleep than they need on work days, and 27 per cent of respondents said they can rarely or never say ‘I had a good night’s sleep’. While there are many illnesses and disorders that can affect sleep, the rise of technology has given us another reason to stay up later into the night. Paul Martin, author of Counting Sheep, explains that “Evolution equipped humans… with biological mechanisms to make us sleep at roughly the same time every day. However, those mechanisms evolved to cope with a preindustrial world that was vastly different from the one we now inhabit.” The use of smartphones has been on the rise since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, with 81 per cent of UK residents owning a smartphone (Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey, 2016). The younger generation are more susceptible to the calls of social media,
with nearly three quarters of 13–18 year olds and over half of 19–29 year olds bringing their phones into their bedrooms and using them while they are trying to go to sleep (National Sleep Foundation poll, 2013). Using screens in the bedroom has several effects, the most recently discovered is the release of blue light, a similar frequency to that of daylight. This light is recognized by our brains and may delay production of melatonin (released by our brains to regulate sleep patterns, often referred to as the ‘sleepy’ hormone) by interrupting our body’s circadian rhythms, the 24 hour cycle of mental, physical and behavioural changes that can be influenced by a many factors, including light. Switch off your phone before bed and you’ll be on your way to a better night’s sleep. Using a phone makes your mind more alert and studies have shown that this is linked to poor quality sleep. Those that text in the hour before going to bed are found to be less likely to report getting a good night, and more likely to wake up feeling un-refreshed. Not to mention the unwelcome phone calls that wake you up in the middle of the night, giving you broken sleep and a groggy attitude the next morning. If anything, for the sake of your family and coworkers, turn your phone off at night.
About the expert
Dr Matt Jones is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Bristol. His particular interest is in the roles of brain activity during sleep, which is central to fine-tuning and integrating memories. Ultimately the team aim to understand how and why distributed information processing becomes impaired, including in anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Down Syndrome 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 11
The molecular toolbox Changing the world, one gene at a time. CRISPR/CAS, a new and innovative way of editing genes
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GENETIC EDITING
[l] Artificially coloured electrophoresis gel. Coloured baanding shows different types of DNA
A new advancement in gene editing has taken targeted human gene editing from the realms of science fiction into science fact. CRISPR (pronounced: crisper) stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Acronyms can only get us so far, so what does it actually mean? CRISPR gives scientists a revolutionary molecular toolbox to edit genes with. It is simpler, cheaper, and more predictable than other methods and has numerous applications from genetically modified crops to defeating human genetic disorders. These new “molecular scissors� make editing the source code of life easier than ever.
What can CRISPR do?
Scientists have managed to insert genes into mosquitoes which make them resistant to Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite which is responsible for causing malaria. These genes
are passed on to the mosquitoes offspring. This will eventually result in a population of mosquitoes which do not harbour the P. falciparum parasite and are unable to cause harm to humans and other animals. With the editing of multiple genes in pig cells, it is possible to change the cell receptors which are involved in signalling with the immune system to distinguish between friend and foe. This allows pig-derived tissues and organs to be transplanted into humans without risk of autoimmune rejection. This is very exciting for healthcare as it would allow us to keep up with the demand for organs even if it is only a temporary solution. The HIV Virus is responsible for causing AIDS. The virus inserts its DNA into the human genome which disrupts the human immune system, increasing susceptibility to infection. CRISPR has shown promise in being able to locate and remove sections of
HIV DNA. However, the virus can maintain a latent state which makes it much harder to find infected tissues when no symptoms are shown. More work is needed to accurately model latent HIV infections in order to combat the diseases long lasting effects. There has been some preliminary research done to investigate the ability to remove blindness causing genes. So far scientists have successfully removed the gene in mice which causes retinitis pigmentosa, the progressive degeneration of retina bound rod cells ultimately leading to blindness. CRISPR can be used to remove allergen producing DNA from various foods such as peanuts. Conversely DNA can be inserted to produce enzymes which convert allergens, such as lactose in milk, into non-allergenic substances for safe consumption CRISPR is hugely valuable in the area of genetic research. We currently have no 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 13
[r] Scientist pipetting samples into electrophoresis gel
idea what 98 per cent of DNA does. This has been termed “junk DNA” because it has no discernible function and in particular, does not code for any proteins. Why do we have it then? The answer may lie in the world of epigenetics. Epigenetics are the interactions between DNA and accessory molecules which act like switches, turning sections of DNA on and off. By using CRISPR to edit this junk “DNA” we could change the way other molecules interact
they have. A greater understanding of disease mechanisms will allow for better therapies and potetially cures to be created. In the mid term, CRISPR can be used to edit the genes of stem cells. This could be done for multiple reasons. Increasing biotic factor production for the healing of burn wounds would increase the rate of skin replenishment and decrease inflammation. Genes can also be edited to make stem cell tissues more
“CRISPR gives scientists a revolutionary molecular toolbox to edit genes with. It is simpler, cheaper, and more predictable than other methods” with it and possibly discover deactivated coding elements which may give further insight into evolutionary genetics.
Fighting genetic diseases
Prevention of genetic diseases is a really exciting area of genetic editing research. It has the potential to eradicate certain genetic diseases from the population and make them non-inheritable to the future generation. Not only would this mean a greater quality of life for those who would otherwise be affected by a genetic disorder but a lower burden on an already stretched social healthcare system. In the short term, CRISPR can be used to study diseases with a more targeted approach. Genes can be manipulated in a lab setting to examine different mutations and the effects 14 | Free Radicals | 22 March 2017
genetically similar to their intended target which would reduce autoimmune rejection. In the long term, with the right approval and oversight in place, it may be possible to treat at risk embryos to remove genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, Tay Sach disease, and sickle cell anaemia. However editing embryonic DNA is not without it’s challenges. The new DNA has to be delivered by a viral vector which essentially turns the cell into a CRISPR production line for the new DNA. there are concerns over the possible long-term effects of hijacking a biological system in this way. Some of the material being introduced into the cells is bacteria based. This could possibly trigger an immune response and may result in the attempted destruction of the cell.
Despite these concerns, there are successful trials taking place which bring hope to millions of people throughout the world. Research in China has already shown promise in curing blood cancer in children though this is in its infancy. This could help to start a revolution in oncological medicine and produce new cures and traetments. CRISPR gene editing may gives hope to many patients who till now may not have had any cure in sight.
The toolbox before CRISPR
Surprisingly, genetic modification has been going on for thousands of years. The earliest form of which is ‘selective breeding’, a term later coined by Darwin when he proposed his revolutionary Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. One of the most important historical examples of this is the cultivation of maize in Mesoamerica from it’s wild Zea form Teosinte, without which there would be a struggle to provide food to a growing global population. An understanding of selective animal breeding has been recorded for a millennium for example, the works of Mago the Carthaginian who wrote works of advice for breeders. The effects of selective breeding are very apparent in dogs, both the successes and the failures. Selective breeding has been successful as a rudimentary method of producing organisms with desirable characteristics. However, this method involves the combining of whole genomes, the good, the bad, and the ugly, just to increase the expression of a few traits Other methods of genetic modification involve inducing mutagenesis, the creation
of new gene mutations when exposed to mutagenic agents such as chemicals or radiation. This method tends to be very unpredictable. Sometimes referred to as the ‘shotgun approach’. Mutagenesis can produce many mutations across a genome, some will be undesirable and likely cause the organism to be non-viable and not survive. Modern methods of genetically modifying organisms involve splicing a specific gene or genes into another organism’s DNA, this is most easily done with bacteria but it is possible with other organisms. Current methods of introducing foreign DNA are hugely complicated, expensive, and yield limited success in regards to reproduction, survivability, and desirable characteristics.
We can do it, but should we? When the subject of genetic editing comes up it would be incomplete without its soul mate, ethics. At the first mention of a new genetic editing technique the response is always the same; “Designer babies!”, “Playing god!”, “Cloning!”. As much as you may want to have a child prodigy pianist, a 3 headed dog or a battalion of Stormtroopers (admittedly that would be awesome), the ethical issues are way more nuanced than that. The main point of conflict surrounds germline editing. This is when a change you make to an organism will be passed on down the generations. Most people have no issue with editing plants and bacteria, or even providing gene therapy in some cases in humans. At the moment it is more of a
question of practicality than ethics. Research is in it’s infancy, we don’t know all of it’s applications, we haven’t even made it safe. As it stands CRISPR can cause multiple collateral mutations in what is otherwise a laser accurate process. Until it is safe, it is not ethical. Above basic safety concerns there remains the question of if we should because we can? Thankfully CRISPR is fairly ineffective in humans at this point in time. Some may even go as far as to call it a disaster. However this does not mean human editing may be viable in the future. How far should we go? What oversight needs to be in place when we can manipulate human embryos? It could be said that gene editing to prevent hereditary diseases is within our mandate as scientists. Is it ethical to rid the world of cystic fibrosis or let people suffer when we have the cure? Future oversight and guidelines will be greatly influenced by public perception and individual opinion. The people who make the legal decisions or lobby for legislation often aren’t scientists. This leads to a situation where a new technology like CRISPR may become misunderstood and a legal nightmare to use or research. The potential hazards may be avoided but no one will benefit from it either. The same thing has happened with GMOs, nuclear power and vaccination, all caused by ill informed hysteria. It is not entirely the public’s fault though. Scientists are the worst people in the world at public relations. People can’t make critical decisions without the facts. CRISPR is an oportunity to improve qulity of life for so many and the converstaion has just begun.
What is CRISPR/CAS?
CRISPR/CAS came to be as part of the prokaryotic immune system as a defence against invasion by foreign agents trying to infect and destroy the host or hijack it to replicate itself. The CRISPR/CAS system recognises foreign DNA inserted into the prokaryote genome and CAS enzymes work to destroy it so that it cannot cause harm or be used to replicate in the case of viruses. The CAS enzymes work like a pair of tiny genetic scissors’, cleaving the DNA at very s0pecific points. This precise cutting action 0can be leveraged to edit genes. CRISPR are small palindromic sections of prokaryotic (bacterial) DNA. DNA is primarily composed of a repeating nucleotide (base) sequence represented by the letters A, T, C, and G. So a palindromic sequence (same in both directions) of DNA might look like ATTCTTA. That is a CRISPR unit. CAS (CRISPR-associated system) genes are found next to CRISPR. These CRISPR/CAS units are separated by small sequences of spacer DNA. These provide a clear boundary between the coding regions of a DNA sequence. A section of special RNA, approximately 20 bases long, called guide RNA (gRNA) is designed to locate and bind to a specific complementary site on a target DNA sequence. This means, in theory, the RNA will only bind to this specific sequence making for very accurate and predictable edits. The gRNA designates a location for the CAS Enzyme to cut the DNA at. Once the DNA has been cut the cell will recognise it as damaged and attempt to repair it. When this is happening it is possible to insert new sections of coding DNA. The new section of DNA will start to code for proteins. The cells will then recognise this new DNA and start to follow its new genetic recipe. 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 15
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BRAVE NEW
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ONLINE DATING
WORLD OF LOVE Looking for love? Dating websites have a multitude of approaches in helping you do so. But what is the science behind these methods and how effective can they really be, asks Rowan Arthur
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© your copright line in here
FOR a little over 300 years, people have been using personal ads to find love, sex and companionship. In the early 20th century, personal ads became mainstream, mainly during World War 1. The popularity didn’t last for long after the war as they soon became associated with scams and perversities. However, in the last 15 to 20 years, the search for romance found a new life on the Internet. Personal ads moved from printed classifieds to online classifieds, chat rooms and forums spawned, and it wasn’t too long before online dating services had taken the phenomenon by storm. By 2007, online dating had become one of the largest online industries. Today, a plethora of dating sites exist, serving all manner of demographics including location, religion and sexual orientation. Some websites, like Match.com, are aimed at as broad an audience as possible. Others offer their services to far more select groups of individuals. All of these sites have one thing in common however. They all promise that by each of their different means, they will be able to match us with another lonely soul. The question is how well do they live up to their promises? To find
they were considered a good match. However, it was soon noticed that the users’ preferences often didn’t align with their activity. Because of this, Match.com started to “weigh” variables differently, depending on how the users
“A common understanding is that what people do and what they say are often very different ” out, we must look at how they work.
Algorithms
Some websites keep it simple. Among the 10 most (financially) successful dating sites, Plenty of fish (POF.com) has thrived best due to this approach. Overheads are kept low, and the website is kept as minimal as possible. The owner swears by the simplicity, and due to the success of the website, makes a habit of not trying to improve or change how the site operates. Matches are made based on simple questions and the site essentially runs as an advanced personal ads page. The questionnaire serves mainly to narrow down the potential matches from the 10 million + users. Think of it as applying filters to narrow down your search while you shop on Amazon. The site has one clever trick up its sleeve though. If you specify that you are interested in 25-30 yearold brunettes, but you start looking at profiles of 30-35 year-old blondes, the programme will learn this and adapt. This is a common feature of big dating sites. A common understanding in social psychology is that what people do and what they say are often very different. This is known as dissonance. This type of learning algorithm is central to the success of Match.com and was a fairly seismic shift in how dating websites worked. Traditionally, matches were based on criteria that the users set. If two users met each other categories, 18 | Free Radicals | 22 March 2017
behaved. The idea was to generate a system that knew individuals better than they knew themselves. Unlike Plenty of fish, the programmes that run behind the scenes at Match.com are in constant development. It’s algorithm, codenamed “Synapse” uses a variety of factors to sort and pair the site’s users. As well as employing the theory of dissonance, the algorithm also uses “triangulation”. This means that the behaviour of similar users is also factored in. To monitor the effectiveness of these systems users are asked to rate their potential matches. The information gets fed back into the algorithm and as the codename suggests, the whole process is akin to the way neural pathways are formed and broken in the brain. While websites like Match.com rely heavily on this sort of data mining, others adopt a more psychological approach.
Personality
Psychometrics have been used heavily in recruitment for years. Now many dating websites have adopted the techniques in order to pair partners not based on preferences or activity, but on personality. The service eHarmony.com requires its customers to complete a 200 item questionnaire, which aims to match couples based on six different factors – Level of agreeableness, preference for closeness with a partner, degree of sexual
and romantic passion, level of extroversion and openness to new experiences, importance of spirituality, and level of happiness and optimism. The more similarity individuals score on these measures, the better a match they supposedly are. However, in the study area of personality, it is generally accepted that compatibility does not rely solely on similarities, but on complementing traits as well. The Meyers-Briggs theory for instance, one of the main personality theories used heavily in business and recruitment, suggests that a compatible pair would compliment each other’s level of extroversion, rather than match it. Therefore, extroverted individuals are considered to match introverted individuals. Extroversion is one of four indices that individuals are measured on, resulting in a possible 16 “personality types”. Personality types considered to be good matches score the same in some indices while complimenting others. While it may be popular, this typology is but one of many theories of personality. It is unfortunately the nature of psychology to have no sure answers. One big problem with these websites is that they often don’t make their algorithms public. This results in no peer-reviewed support for the effectiveness of the systems, or even of the validity of their measures of personality. This is an opportunity lost for many researchers in the field of personality, as these sites own masses of data that could be studied. eHarmony are keen to use the data for research. It has an advisory board of prominent social scientists and has started a longitudinal study comparing couples that met on eHarmony with a control group. They are committed to publishing peerreviewed research, but for obvious business reasons, will never release the details of its algorithm. Here in lies the catch 22. Generally, scientific methods are forged from scientific scrutiny and replication or adjustments to experiments. If websites such as eHarmony could give up their methods for peer-review, progress of the models could be a lot swifter. There is however another scientific angle that has been adopted.
Genetics
Far from the murky waters of conceptual social psychology, geneticists and neuroscientists are studying the physical laws of attraction in the human body. Promising to at last bring reliable science to the world of dating, websites like GenePartner.com and Chemistry. com add another dimension to the world of online dating. This new method takes several forms. Simple questionnaires can be used to measure aspects of brain and body chemistry that are associated with temperament and personality. For example, the ratio between the length of the right hand index and ring
fingers can indicates levels of testosterone and assumptions of assertive, verbal and analytical capabilities can be made. Similarly to social psychological theories of personality, evidence suggests that attraction is due to chemical profiles that complement each other. Some websites offer services that promise lasting relationships by using genetic information, matching people based on differences between their immune systems. The system is based on research that suggests that we are attracted to individuals whose immune system differs the most from our own. This is due to the advantage of being able to pass on a greater variety of HLA genes, which control the activation of immune response. A greater variety of these genes therefore increases the effectiveness of the immune system. There is a general degree of skepticism about these services however. Some have even suggested that these sites are merely using the hard sell of science to take advantage of a media educated public. Biologists and Geneticists that are not involved in the commerce of internet dating are keen to point out that methods such as these really represent a scratching of the surface of the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind attraction. The reality is that the process of finding a mate is a hugely complex one.
Too Complex?
Online dating services have clear advantages in making individuals more accessible to each other. This is especially an advantage to people who may be cut off from society in some way, or just simply want to meet another person who shares their niche interests. However, psychologists argue that the proliferation of online dating may be undermining the natural process of forming new relationships by
© your copright line in here
© Jamie Bott
[l] Some companies claim to be able to match people based on their gentic makeup [r] Others create their own versions of established personality tests [opposite] Most websites rely on complex algorithms that run behind the scenes
decreasing willingness to commit. There are also concerns that the evaluative assessment of potential partners can lead to objectification. At the very least, meeting first online can often compromise the romantic outcomes. In person, communication is not made solely with language. When we meet people for the first time, we are conscious of the impressions we are making. We are however able to manage these impressions in vastly different ways in the two scenarios. Another problem is how to measure success. People clearly have different expectations from dating sites. While websites such as eHarmony cater for individuals looking for true love, some websites are clearly aimed at people with different objectives (e.g. “MarryMeAlready.com” and even “SeekingMillionaire.com”). Of all the methods, it is generally regarded that personality testing holds the most promise. The problem is that websites generally create their own personality tests based on ones formed by theorists and social scientists and then modify them to create their own “secret recipes”. This not only gets in the way of scientific progress but also begs the question of the effectiveness and reliability of the modifications that have been made and even the understanding of the original concept. There are websites that use the Meyers-Briggs profiling in the original form such as projectevolove.com, however they have failed to pick up much traffic, deeming their effectiveness limited. Being able to truly match people may be too much to ever really ask, but as science and technology continue to progress, we will surely see more websites appear, pitting their own new and perhaps sometimes novel methods against the enormous odds in the world of online dating.
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory that was developed by the mother-daughter team Katherine and Isabel Myers, based on the theory of personality types described by the eminent psychologist Carl Jung. As the theory had only been published for scholars, the aim was to make Jung’s insights of type theory available to the masses. The theory suggests there are four dichotomies of preference that individuals can be measured on. • Energy: Extroverted (E) individuals acquire their motivation from the outer world, Introverted (I) individuals from their own inner world. • Information: Sensors (S) focus on the basic information that they take in while Intuitives (N) interpret and add their own meaning. • Decisions: Thinkers (T) rely on logic and sense to make choices while Feelers (F) consider the people and circumstances concerned. • Structure: Judgers (J) are organized and regimented while Perceivers (P) prefer to remain open to new information and options. These indices were translated by the Myers who formed a qualitative instrument to measure participant on each preference and subsequently determine one of 16 personality types. Since becoming commercially available, the typology has been used diversely in areas ranging from executive development to counselling, and the MBTI has become the most popular personality instrument. By far the most popular application of the MBTI has been in the workplace. Applicants of jobs can have their personality measured in order to gain greater insight into whether or not they might fit a certain role. Effective teams can be formed by matching individuals based on their corresponding types. Colleague relationships can be understood in greater depth and therefore improved. The typology and instrument is by far the most widely used personality instrument, with over 3.5 million tests being administered every year. It is also reportedly used by 80% of Fortune Magazine’s respected poll of the top 100 companies to work for. 22 March 2017 | Free Radicals | 19
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BRAVE NEW WORLD OF LOVE ‘Scientific’ dating websites: where is the proof?
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