Slashdot Mirror
Genetic Research In The Heart of Amish Country
FrenchyinOntario writes "Insular, inbred communities like the Ashkenazi Jews and Indian tribes can be a bonanza of genetic information for researchers, and the Amish & Mennonite communities in the United States are proving to be fertile ground as well for scientists who want to better understand the nature of genetic diseases and how rare illnesses occur more frequently in such closed-off communities. The Amish, famous for their renunciation of a lot of technology, are embracing a lab that has been built in the centre of their community because their faith teaches them to "help their fellow man", recognizing that helping scientists better understand the genetic causes of diabetes, mental retardation, and some of the rarer diseases in their families, helps themselves as well as others. For a better understanding of the Amish and their approach to technology, Wired magazine ran an excellent story a few years back better illustrating why they are not just mindless kneejerk technophobes."
Am I the only one that saw the headline and got a picture in my head of a mad scientist experimenting on the Amish? They would be the perfect target. Come to my lab, we're going to uh, cure cancer and stuff. Yup. Great fun that curing cancer is. Yep...
Over in Australia we have another group of people that are highly inbred, they live on the island state of Tasmania.
There is even rumoured to exist the infamous "two-headed" Tasmanian which were thought to have been exterminated by the early settlers though the odd unconfirmed sighting is reported now and then.
I live 30 minutes from Lancaster but I have never seen any Amish around here in Blackpool.
Jonathanjk.com
I think you got modded down automatically when you said you lived in India. You might want to keep that a secret on /.
But did he have place to plug in the microwave when they were done?
(I'm the original AC)
/rocks gently in corner
And I'm losing my mind!! Help me! I... Can't... Control... The.. Voices.....
The article did talk a lot about the relationships between the Amish and the English.
-- Terrorism may have turned the United States into a nation of fear and aggression, but it won't succeed in Europe.
Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
Basically, if they own a buggy, they're Amish. If they own a car, they're Mennonite. :) But if they're standing side by side on a sidewalk you'd never be able to tell who is who.
Sure you can. Offer them both a free iPod.
Apu: Today, I am no longer an Indian living in America. I am an Indian-American.
Lisa: You know, in a way, all Americans are immigrants. Except, of course Native Americans.
Homer: Yeah, Native Americans like us.
Lisa: No, I mean American Indians.
Apu: Like me.
Computer Go: Writing Software to Play the Ancient Game of Go