Laser-cut spirals in nature!

I was never quite happy with the "studio" portraits I had taken of my laser-cut wood spirals.

Today I finally got around to doing a photo session with the spirals in a natural setting -- Golden Gate Park.

It was a bit tricky to work with the relatively harsh lighting from direct sunlight on a clear day, but I got some good shots out of it:

 
 
 
 
 

See them all on flickr

[health] Genetic testing discussion group results

A large group of my friends did the 23 and Me genetic screening back in May during the $100 discount day.  A couple of months back, we got together to share and discuss our results.  People have been asking me "is it worth the money?"

Here are some things people have found (names removed to protect identity):
- One person is at substantially increased risk for prostate cancer.  Consequently, he has started taking lycopene supplements and cutting down on red meat consumption.  He's now extra motivated to keep taking Vitamin D supplements as high levels of Vitamin D also decrease the risk. 
- One person is now fairly sure he will go bald based on genetic risk factors.  He's started using Minoxidil on a daily basis. 
- A couple of people are at increased risk for diabetes, and there was a long discussion of diabetes prevention.  Ditto on heart disease.

While some of these risks can be roughly assessed using family history, genetic testing tells you more precisely whether you have inherited the specific genes known to increase or decrease particular risks. 

When it comes down to it, people have a limited amount of attention to devote to potential health-related issues, so services like 23 and Me help people figure out what to focus on.  In addition to the risk assessments, they provide percentage chances of developing various ailments, which helps put increased/decreased risk in perspective.  For example, heart disease is a much more frequent occurrence than Crohn's disease, so even if you have a somewhat increased risk of Crohn's disease and a decreased risk for heart disease, it's still important to worry about heart disease. 

Given that medical costs for a single illness can easily top $400 in a single doctor's visit, the value of the data learned from 23 and Me makes it a bargain, even at full price. 

~

After the serious discussion, there was a more playful period where we started comparing sections of our genomes.  One fascinating section in particular was the immune system.  There's been a lot of research showing that people with very different immune systems are more strongly attracted to one another, presumably via pheromones.  While we don't know if the genes in the immune system that 23 and Me tests for are the same as the ones that control attraction, my informal experience of "scent" attraction levels for the women in the group lined up fairly well with the genetic dissimilarity of the immune system. 

I'm thinking there will be a dating site soon in which men and women are paired up using genetics as well as other characteristics.  It will lead to some interesting pairings, and hopefully not too many instances of couples who are terrible long-term matches but are completely filled with overwhelming attraction when they are near one another.