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Autism May Have Had Advantages in Humans' Hunter-Gatherer Past, Researcher Believes
ScienceDaily ^ | June 3, 2011 | University of Southern California

Posted on 06/10/2011 3:13:11 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

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To: SunkenCiv

First of all a survival advantage is only and advantage evolutionarily speaking if you are able to pass on your genes. Hence the formal definition of the Darwin award.

They could have been the best hunter gatherers in the world but if they couldn’t reproduce - it doesn’t count. And reproduction could very well depend on some degree of social skills.

Secondly wasn’t there info just recently focusing on *mutations* as cause for Autism? If so the sickle cell analogy won’t work as sickle cell is due to a recessive gene that is passed on with normal recessive mendelian genetics - not really sure how *mutations* get passed on - almost sounds oxymoronic to me.


61 posted on 06/10/2011 4:27:38 PM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten (Welcome to the USA - where every day is Backwards Day!)
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To: muawiyah

If they were better off, then there’s more likelihood of Autism being noticed, not less. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that autism levels rose after coming to the US.

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/07/24/2687/a_mysterious_connection_autism_and_minneapolis_somali_children


62 posted on 06/10/2011 4:32:08 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: MetaThought
You can't really compare the kids born here to the parents. Their autistic brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, and other relatives were simply left behind to be peasant farmers and herders.

Somalis may well have a very high incidence of autism that no one has ever studied before.

Give you another example ~ Western Europeans in Europe and the United States have a cholesterol problem. People from far northern Europe and SE India don't.

Until quite recently it was believed this was a result of their diet and high levels of outdoor activity. More recently they've come to believe it's hereditary.

They look quite different really.

63 posted on 06/10/2011 4:46:08 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten

The golden age for being autistic may have been before there was spoken language. :’)

Autism linked to hundreds of spontaneous genetic mutations
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2732633/posts

Autistic Reporter: Train Thankfully Unharmed In Crash That Killed Man
http://www.theonion.com/video/autistic-reporter-train-thankfully-unharmed-in-cra,20098/


64 posted on 06/10/2011 4:46:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: muawiyah

You’re absolutely mistaken if you think that people wouldn’t notice 1-in-28 children of any generation being autistic, doctor or no doctor.

Hmmm, I don’t know about Northern Europeans, but Indians who come to the US (or the west in general) have a fairly high rate of heart disease. Yes, diet absolutely plays a part in Heart Disease, is anyone surprised.


65 posted on 06/10/2011 5:00:44 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: MetaThought

The Dravidian people in SE India are really different from the others. They do not have a serious cholesterol problem. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a heart attack problem of course, but the causes are different.


66 posted on 06/10/2011 5:04:04 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: MetaThought

http://somalidoc.com/smf/index.php?topic=968.0 is rather informative. I think you could have 10 out of 28 with different levels of autism and their families/tribes would keep that hidden in Somalia!


67 posted on 06/10/2011 5:08:36 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: dangerdoc

“The prevelance of the condition is high enough that exploration of benefits from the trait is reasonable.”

About that prevelance...I just hope that mother nature isn’t about to turn the clock back 5000 years!


68 posted on 06/10/2011 5:15:03 PM PDT by Domestic Church (AMDG ...)
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To: MetaThought

I believe adults with Autism do have jobs. It appears you have gradually stopped trying to being aware of facts too. So in the Real World not having a family makes you worthless? Hey Ann Coutler did you here that?

No you don’t understand, and your ignorance becomes much more obvious the more you write. Modern genetics is the foundation of future science. This is the root of where this unbelievable science will grow. The individual genetic blueprint is the template.

You may want to start to begin your faith again because Modern Medicine has given us a lot of information about Autism in just the past couple of years.


69 posted on 06/10/2011 5:30:05 PM PDT by jerseyrocks
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To: jerseyrocks

I’m not saying it’s impossible, not at all. People overcome much adversity, and that even makes them better people. Doesn’t change the fact that autism makes some things harder to do and that’s a disadvantage.

That is all.


70 posted on 06/10/2011 5:36:12 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: MetaThought

Now it appears you understand my point. Those with Autism are making this world a better place. I guess it wasn’t such a “horrible” explanation after all.


71 posted on 06/10/2011 5:46:52 PM PDT by jerseyrocks
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To: muawiyah

Well, that assumes that High Cholesterol is indeed the problem, which is by no means clear. Heart Disease is the real problem, and Dravidians don’t seem to be immune from it, they may even have a higher risk.


72 posted on 06/10/2011 5:47:19 PM PDT by MetaThought
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To: gleeaikin

Thanks gleeaikin.


73 posted on 06/10/2011 7:04:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: MetaThought
As they say ALL MEN DIE ~ and so do the women, just later on because they are protected by special hormones.

Low cholesterol doesn't necessarily give you protection against heart trouble.

My latest readings were:

CHOLESTEROL 134

CHOLESTEROL, NON-HDL 103

CHOLESTEROL, HDL 31

CHOLESTEROL, LDL 59

And, I know what all of this means ~ to wit: 134 is good, 103 is good, 31 is bad, 59 is good.

That I haven't had a significant change in over a decade is good. I've been working on the low HDL reading ~ when combined with a high LDL reading that's really bad ~ but no matter how much exercise I engage in, or what foods I eat over long periods of time, the readings don't budge.

My father is in his 90s and he has comparable readings ~ except his HDL is even lower.

It is presumptively HEREDITARY and under special circumstances it has a selective advantage. We think it has to do with eating a diet of almost nothing but sea mammals for several thousand years. This gives you a running start in the cholesterol sweepstakes. I am sure that if I could import canned seal from nearby Canada I could FIX my cholesterol problems in just a few months ~ maybe get those readings at least half way up to normal.

74 posted on 06/10/2011 7:55:48 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL
Your problem is you want her to be something she is not and you've made it clear to her that she is a freak. She's picked up on that anxiety and stress, about rather embracing that she is simply different from the norm.

You seem to think she can't be happy or fulfilled unless she has the kind extroverted superficial lifestyle of you expect.

75 posted on 06/10/2011 8:56:16 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Don't screw up the 2012 nomination.)
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To: jerseyrocks; SunkenCiv; All

If these changes are present by the 8th division, then they should certainly look at prenatal factors in South Korea with an estimated 1 in 36 rate.


76 posted on 06/10/2011 10:16:12 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: muawiyah; jerseyrocks; SunkenCiv; All

At 72, Kaiser Permanente was concerned that my cholesterol was above 200. On the other hand my blood pressure, is usually down below 110 over 65, or occasionally slightly higher. They asked if I wanted to take Lipitor. My response was that my grandfather lived to be 98, one of his sisters lived to 103 (she was a jolly person), and her other sisters died in their middle to upper 90s. My father who did not quit smoking until 87 died at 90 (after he had a stroke), and my mother died at 89 from congestive heart failure when the pig valve they inserted for her bad mitral valve 10 years earlier failed. All but one of her 5 brothers and sisters died in their 90s.

Since I don’t have a bad heart valve, have never smoked, don’t have a bad temper like my father, get more exercise than my mother and eat very healthy food, I said “no thanks”. I hope I did the right thing. I just wish I knew what my grandfather’s cholesterol levels were like.


77 posted on 06/10/2011 10:45:29 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

I’ve only seen one centenarian doctor. :’)


78 posted on 06/11/2011 6:37:18 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: newzjunkey
"Your problem is you want her to be something she is not and you've made it clear to her that she is a freak."

Is it irony or coincidence that your eloqui mimics the emotionally-inconsiderate norm which she encounters every few hours of every day?

79 posted on 06/11/2011 7:30:42 AM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL (******************* Provide for the common defense)
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To: jerseyrocks

Sure, I understand that the Lord chose me to raise her and her unique personality. For years and years, I’ve helped her embrace her uniqueness. And just like everyone has their ups and downs, I’m traveling down the hill at the moment, and I see junior high up ahead with a huge year of transitions and changes fast approaching.

As far as I know, none of my daughter’s peers have Aspergers. I am so frustrated that these “normal” kids never invite her anywhere or to anything. It’s heart-crushing. Of course we have invited kids here many times before, but play dates are usually a one-time deal and not reciprocated.

No, I don’t want to change my daughter, but how is anyone to survive without friends?

This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever faced in my life. It kills me to see so much pain and loneliness in my daughter’s eyes. I’m glad for you, though, that things seem to be working on your end.


80 posted on 06/11/2011 7:50:58 AM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL (******************* Provide for the common defense)
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