The Rheumatologist
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
  • Technology
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • Events
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
    • From the College
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Arthritis & Rheumatology
    • Arthritis Care & Research
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Research Reviews
    • Annual Meeting
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
    • Rheumatology Image Bank
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / The Promise of Molecular Medicine

The Promise of Molecular Medicine

September 19, 2018 • By Philip Seo

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
amiak / shutterstock.com

amiak / shutterstock.com

Honestly, I’m not sure why I bothered to listen.

You Might Also Like
  • Nanoparticle Medicine Delivery Shows Promise
  • HealthKit Wellness App Holds Promise for Medicine, Rheumatology
  • Molecular Analysis Reveals Potential Treatment Window for Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Explore this issue
September 2018
Also by this Author
  • Moments the Words Don’t Reach

I was in my kitchen, early on a Saturday morning, with the radio keeping me company. It started with the news and the usual litany of tragedies, both major and minor, that comprise such programs. The news gradually faded into other programming, which I can no longer recall; honestly, I was using the radio for background noise, like elevator music for the tone deaf.

Then it hit me: I was listening to a story on sperm donation.

I normally would have just turned off the radio—I’m not a prude, I just tend to avoid listening to stories about medical topics. It’s too much like work. Worse, it is difficult to turn the doctor part of my brain off, so I create a running critique, as if the reporter were a medical student in one of my classes, and I was grading his report.

But my hands were full, and I was distracted, so the story gradually crept into the outer boundaries of my conscience, like an earworm or the latest summer hit, until I was hooked.

He started to donate when he was in college. Outside the pocket change he earned, he thought of it as a civic duty. To each, according to their need; from each, according to their ability.

Decades later, he started to learn how successful his contributions were. At last count, he has met 14 of his progeny. Men are apparently more reluctant to reach out than women, so he is expecting a second wave of children to emerge at some point.

He notes there was no instantaneous connection when he met his progeny. Of course, there were physical similarities; for example, he noticed that many of his offspring had the same flecks of color in their eyes. More surprising to me was another observation: They could all sing.

The father relates a story of how he met his daughter: Not knowing anything about her, he decided to take her to a karaoke bar, which he thought represented neutral territory. While he was singing, he noticed his daughter starting to cry. She later explained that she was raised in a tone-deaf family. Her ability and love of singing had made her feel out of place her entire life.

At first, this doesn’t seem any more remarkable than passing along the color of his eyes. It seems to make sense that the ability to sing might also be genetic. But take a moment to think about how complex this trait must be—the ability to hear a melody, internalize the notes and rhythm, and then reproduce both, must be as complicated as learning a language. That said, everyone speaks some language; not everyone can sing.

Siblings & Other Forms of Torture

“Only if you have an older brother who tortured you when you were a kid,” is my standard reply.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Single Page

Filed Under: Rheuminations Tagged With: Genes, geneticsIssue: September 2018

You Might Also Like:
  • Nanoparticle Medicine Delivery Shows Promise
  • HealthKit Wellness App Holds Promise for Medicine, Rheumatology
  • Molecular Analysis Reveals Potential Treatment Window for Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
  • Precision Medicine for Lupus Continues to Progress

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

ACR/ARP Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the ACR/ARP Meeting Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2019 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.