IGSP News Stories

In a study published last October, Fedrigo, Wray, Wall and colleagues tested the tradeoff hypothesis and pinpointed changes in two groups of molecules that may have shuttled more energy to our brains, and less to our muscles. “This is the first time the hypothesis has been tested at the molecular level,” Wray told attendees at the 2011 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Supreme Court of the United States on Friday began considering whether to take up the case between Myriad Genetics, the Association of American Pathology, and other plaintiffs and defendants that could either shore up or change current US laws covering gene patenting.

It could be that we are on the verge of a great deluge of cognitive enhancement. Or it’s possible that new brain-enhancing drugs and technologies will be nothing compared to how we’ve transformed our minds in the past. If it seems that making ourselves “artificially” smarter is somehow inhuman, it may be that similar activities are actually what made us human.

Bob Cook-Deegan is a signatory on an amicus brief in support of petitioners challenging the patent eligibility of isolated DNA and urging the high court to take the case against Myriad Genetics over its BRCA patents.

The goal of the center is to address emerging or novel questions in evolutionary science and its applications by supporting research and education across disciplinary, institutional, geographic and demographic boundaries.