Monday, April 9, 2012

Changes in Monkeys' Social Status Affect Their Genes

Rhesus Macaque!

Summary: According to a new study, a female's social status affects how her genes turn on and off. The study followed 49 female rhesus macaques. Those with a higher social rank tended to be healthier as long as their social status didn't decline. The experiment was done with females because males enter new social groups at adolescence to establish their rank order, while females don't leave their birth group and take on a rank similar to their mothers' status.

Critique: It's kind of hard to explain but this was a really cool article. It talked about how this was true for other species, like insects, fish, and honeybees- so I would like to know if the same is true for humans.

Impact: There isn't a large impact here, but it's extremely interesting.

Reference: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/04/09/changes_in_monkeys_social_status_affect_their_genes.html

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