something that brings warmth to my heart

I made this for my baby. It reminded me of some things i have to get done: laundry, dishes, but also of the more productive and spiritually uplifting things. Like hitting up the ol' cubase sequencer and loading up some drum machine program. Learning languages. Being fiercer in my resistance of 'the man.' Exercising.


There was an interesting article published online at nature.com, the best in science journalism, which discusses a gene therapy discovered to eliminate laziness in primates (monkeys specifically in this experiment).


"The gene knockdown triggered a remarkable transformation in the simian work ethic," says Barry Richmond of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, who studied the animals.

Translation: the monkeys started doing shit. But how?

The team then injected a short strand of DNA into each monkey's brains, temporarily switching off a key gene in a region of the brain called the rhinal cortex, which is known to be involved in processing reward signals. The gene encodes a protein called a D2 receptor that makes nerve cells more sensitive to dopamine, a chemical that is also implicated in the perception of reward.

Why the dopamine receptors? I associate dopamine with stimulants. Maybe the other person who reads this blog can explain this to me. I do know that SSRI -selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors- work in a similar way; they block surplus seratonin from the receptors me thinks.


-Until next time, much love my peeps