The Daily Beacon

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Ballet Hispanico brings passion, precision to Clarence Brown stage

Vols, Tigers ready to meet in SEC clash

Friday, October 1, 2010

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E D I T O R I A L L Y

Issue 32

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906

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Researchers link genes to behavioral traits UT, Oxford study finds selfishness, altruism stem from maternal, paternal genes Robbie Hargett Staff Writer Researchers from UT and Oxford University recently found that selfish behavior is linked to maternal genes, while altruistic behavior is linked to paternal genes. Francisco Úbeda, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UT, and Andy Gardner, evolutionary biologist from Oxford University, advanced genomic imprinting by applying this theory beyond the family. “Up until the ’90s, we thought that genes inherited from our mother and genes inherited from our father, if they had the same sequence, were identical,” Úbeda said, “But we found that they are in fact not equivalent. Genomic imprinting refers to the fact that a gene might express itself differently depending on whether it is maternally or paternally inherited.” Úbeda said these imprinted genes carry a memory of which parent they came from. One of the basic assumptions behind the study is that genes want to survive in future generations, and Gardner said there are two ways of doing this. “First, the gene can make its carrier have more offspring and send copies of itself into the future using that route,” Gardner said.

“Secondly, the gene can make its carrier “Consequently, paternal genes have been behave altruistically towards other individuals selected to make you behave altruistically who carry copies of the same gene, kin, so that towards your neighbors, whereas maternal they have more offspring and, hence, send genes have been selected to make you behave copies of the gene into the future.” more selfishly,” Gardner said. Essentially, your genes want you to be kind Gardner said we generally view individual to your neighbors if they are related to you. organisms as straightforward decision makers, “This yet many can lead to social dilemdis agreemas involve m e n t s decisions we between find difficult the genes to make when you got torn between from your choices. mother “Our study and those suggests that you got these inner from your demons may –Oxford University evolutionary biologist Andy Gardner on the father, if be due to the origin of conflict within individuals you are conflict that more relatis happening ed to your in our neighbors through one of your parents than genomes: our maternal genes pushing for us to through the other,” Gardner said. behave selfishly, while our paternal genes urge Maternal genes in human populations cor- us to think of others,” Gardner said. respond to egoism because males historically The findings could also be used to interpret tended to stay close to where they were born, neurological disorders, as research in the past while females traveled to new areas to have a few years has suggested that genomic imprintfamily, so people are more related to their ing underlies human neurological disorders. neighbors through their fathers than their Gardner said that mutations in imprinted genes could be responsible for disorders rangmothers.

Our study suggests that

these inner demons may be due to

the conflict that is happening in our genomes.

ing from psychosis to autism. “We make predictions about what sort of mutations are expected to lead to what sort of conditions and when,” Gardner said. “Our study reveals that the ecology and demography of the species really matters in shaping these neurological disorders, for example, details like whether dispersal is female biased or male biased.” In some areas of the field, gene therapy and reactivation of genes is done to address these disorders. “Some of the diseases are caused by division, but you still have a copy of the gene that is fully functional,” Úbeda said. “Before reactivating the gene, we need to understand the connections and the nature of the genes. Otherwise, we could have undesirable side effects.” Úbeda said the main benefit of the research is that it furthers the understanding of the roles of these genes, but Gardner said that much more experimental work is needed in order to take this field forward. “While our article was in press, another study discovered the existence of many, many imprinted genes that are active in the brain,” Gardner said. “It will be exciting to see whether their activity and effects on social behaviour are consistent with our model predictions.”

Student opinions vary on Neyland renovations

George Richardson • The Daily Beacon

Construction crews work on the newly renovated Gate 21 Plaza outside Neyland Stadium this summer. UT students’ opinions differ on the numerous changes to Neyland’s appearance and student section seating, two of the many changes that have taken place to the home of the Vols this season.

Matthew McMurray Staff Writer With the dust just now settling from Neyland Stadium’s recent renovations, students share their observations, opinions and experiences concerning the new stadium. “I noticed the new amphitheater,” junior Hunter Siler said. “It really makes it a lot more of an open atmosphere. It’s a place you feel comfortable hanging out at now, as opposed to feeling like that’s just where game day is. People can actually go there to chill and hang out before the game and not be worried about being trampled by somebody.” The area around the stadium has the addition of the amphitheater and the newly laid brick. “I noticed the bricks they laid down,” Kip Packer, nursing major, said. “That crazy huge facade, I think it’s all pretty sweet.” For students and fans alike, UT football is a big part of life, and Neyland stadium is a key part of it. The stadium is where the Vols play and are cheered on by 100,000 fans clad in orange and white. “The stadium looks incredible now,” Jonathan Edwards,

engineering major, said. “Neyland used to be kind of old, and it’s nice now to be able to look at the stadium and be proud of it. I like that it looks good now and doesn’t look like an old rundown stadium that is only known for being huge.” Although the changes made to the outside of the stadium have been received well by students, the changes made to the inside have drawn complaints from some. Packer and Siler both agree that the move of the student section was a bad idea. Being so far back from the home team’s sidlines, Siler fears the Vols are not as encouraged by the cheers of the student section, because the team is unable to hear them. “The fact that they put the visiting team on the other side sucks, because when we cheer on the UT team, they can’t really hear us, because they are on the other side with the fans that typically sit the whole game,” Siler said. “Selfishly, I’m against it, just because for the students we don’t get as good of seats,” Edwards said. “But I understand why they did it, and I’m kind of glad they did it. Having our team sit in the shade while the other team sits in the sun, that’s smart. Students can just get over it, because they’re there for the game, and it doesn’t matter if you have a crappy seat — you can still be loud.” For first-time students who haven’t been able to see the

before-and-after results of the renovations, the stadium changes are not that big of a deal. Rather, first timers enjoy the energy of the game. “The first game I ever went to was against UT-Martin,” Alex Joss, freshman from New Jersey, said. “I just remember the stadium buzzing. It had a completely different feel to it than all the other games I’ve been to up north, where I’m from.” Joss remembered being taken aback by the sheer volume of orange. He remembered thinking there was no way all that orange would fit into one stadium. “My first experience was intense,” Sean McComisky, freshman from Franklin, said. “It was completely different from high school football. You could just feel the intensity in the air.” For McComisky, UT games have lived up to all the hype and expectations he had. He will always have fond memories of the Oregon game when the game was delayed because of lighting, he said. While the field was vacated, McComisky watched as students began pouring over the walls onto the field. Overall, game day is still game day. It’s a time when students and alumni come together to watch their Vols battle it out in Neyland Stadium. The seating and new outside renovations go unseen as everyone turns their eyes to the field and becomes absorbed in the energy of that is Tennessee Volunteer football.


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