Well, if they found a good correlation of autism shared by identical twins, that might be a strong argument for a genetic component.
But then again, they share the same environment, snuggled up next to each other!
So we are back to the whole tabla rasa stuff, is it genetics or is it environment?
This argument will still be going on 1000 years from now... but we will continue to zoom in on the ones we can solve.
On a personal note, I am unwilling to declare HFCS as being totally not at fault here. We simply cannot say for sure now.
But I appreciate very much your knowledge and tone of the discussion. You have shown yourself worthy of having a Ph.D.
I probably could have done it, my fields being Computer Science and psychology, but I was just too lazy and way, way too interested in skirts back then...
;-)
But then again, they share the same environment, snuggled up next to each other!
So we are back to the whole tabla rasa stuff, is it genetics or is it environment?
If autism were completely genetic, both or neither identical twin would be autistic. If it were completely environmental, the chance of both twins having it would be the same as non-identical twins or non-twin siblings. (I may not be completely correct here; it's been a LONG time since I took genetics.)
Even in the womb, the environment of identical twins is not uniform. Those small differences in environment could be enough to account for epigenetic differences between twins; epigenetic differences can even arise randomly.
On a personal note, I am unwilling to declare HFCS as being totally not at fault here. We simply cannot say for sure now.
Humans have been consuming fructose for millions of years; it really is ubiquitous in plant foods. There is no basis to think that fructose extracted from corn (HFCS) has an effect on human health that fructose from other sources doesn't have. That would be like thinking that pure water purchased in San Francisco would somehow have different health effects than pure water purchased in Boca Raton.
But I appreciate very much your knowledge and tone of the discussion. You have shown yourself worthy of having a Ph.D.
I probably could have done it, my fields being Computer Science and psychology, but I was just too lazy and way, way too interested in skirts back then...
Why, thank you!
It is never too late to get a Ph.D. I went to graduate school while my son was in Jr. High and High School; he and I graduated the same year. But it takes a level of dedication; I don't recommend it to people unless they are absolutely certain that is what they want to do. If you already have a good career, it might not be worth the time and effort.