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Controlling Fear By Modifying DNA

Posted by Soulskill on from the turning-somebody-into-one-of-the-x-men-would-also-subdue-fear dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The fear of flying or of skittering spiders can mean more than just a momentary increase in heart rate and a pair of sweaty palms. A hard-core phobia can lead to crippling anxiety. Now an international team of researchers says it believes it has found a way to silence the gene that feeds phobic fear via a novel mechanism of gene regulation associated with fear extinction. The notion appears to be that phobias arise from experiences that have left an outsized imprint on gene expression, and that undoing this can undo the anxiety itself. The study was published this month (abstract) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

3 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. I thought fear was a choice by guytoronto · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least, that's what Will Smith told me.

  2. Re:What could go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Lack of fear as a child has been correlated with development of criminal behavior later in life: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712468

    While reducing the fear response could be useful as a treatment for a crippling phobia, it would almost certainly contribute to risky behavior as well.

  3. Re:Democrats want you to fear Republicans! by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 4, Informative

    >Do any of you realize you are biased against conservatives because you have been *trained* to be?

    Does it occur to you that we're biased against conservatives because people who self-identify as conservative keep saying deeply stupid things in public. See just about any Republican politician, or check out the insane conservatives that use tags like #TGDN, #TCOT, and #REDNATIONRISING on Twitter. They just keep feeding each other fake quotes, and reinforcing a hatred of anyone who isn't as delusional as they are. They think that intelligent liberal people are their enemy, when really the enemy is the "conservative" media that filled their heads with nonsense.

    Conservative didn't always mean crazy/stupid, but it sure does now.


    >what is so bad about individual liberty, natural rights and limited government huh?

    Nothing, it's the superstition, authoritarianism, racism, homophobia, and opposition to women's rights that's wrong with the ignorant conservatives.