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The Insanity Virus
Discover Magazine ^ | published online November 8, 2010 | Douglas Fox

Posted on 11/18/2010 7:12:58 PM PST by MetaThought

The Insanity Virus

Schizophrenia has long been blamed on bad genes or even bad parents. Wrong, says a growing group of psychiatrists. The real culprit, they claim, is a virus that lives entwined in every person's DNA.

by Douglas Fox

Steven and David Elmore were born identical twins, but their first days in this world could not have been more different. David came home from the hospital after a week. Steven, born four minutes later, stayed behind in the ICU. For a month he hovered near death in an incubator, wracked with fever from what doctors called a dangerous viral infection. Even after Steven recovered, he lagged behind his twin. He lay awake but rarely cried. When his mother smiled at him, he stared back with blank eyes rather than mirroring her smiles as David did. And for several years after the boys began walking, it was Steven who often lost his balance, falling against tables or smashing his lip.

Those early differences might have faded into distant memory, but they gained new significance in light of the twins’ subsequent lives. By the time Steven entered grade school, it appeared that he had hit his stride. The twins seemed to have equalized into the genetic carbon copies that they were: They wore the same shoulder-length, sandy-blond hair. They were both B+ students. They played basketball with the same friends. Steven Elmore had seemingly overcome his rough start. But then, at the age of 17, he began hearing voices.

(Excerpt) Read more at discovermagazine.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dna; genes; genetic; genetics; infection; schizophrenic; science; virus; wankersformitt
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Very fascinating article.
1 posted on 11/18/2010 7:13:02 PM PST by MetaThought
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To: neverdem; SunkenCiv

Ping!


2 posted on 11/18/2010 7:14:19 PM PST by MetaThought
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To: MetaThought

OK, that explains Democrats.


3 posted on 11/18/2010 7:14:31 PM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: JulieRNR21; Impy

Psychology ping.


4 posted on 11/18/2010 7:17:58 PM PST by Clintonfatigued (Illegal aliens commit crimes that Americans won't commit)
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To: MetaThought

The voices in my head mean I am never alone...


5 posted on 11/18/2010 7:49:16 PM PST by Bean Counter (Stout Hearts!!)
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To: Myrddin

Genetics, Micro & virology ping...””We lug around 100,000 retro­virus sequences inside us; all told, genetic parasites related to viruses account for more than 40 percent of all human DNA.”


6 posted on 11/18/2010 7:51:52 PM PST by Domestic Church (AMDG...)
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To: Bean Counter

The voices in my head mean I am never alone...


Close friends?


7 posted on 11/18/2010 8:09:30 PM PST by SaraJohnson
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To: SaraJohnson; Bean Counter
The voices in my head mean my tapeworm doesn't know how to SHUT UP!
8 posted on 11/18/2010 8:30:42 PM PST by bigheadfred (/s)
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To: bigheadfred

Always shoutin’ for more food!


9 posted on 11/18/2010 8:34:33 PM PST by SaraJohnson
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To: SaraJohnson

The freaky part is the next morning I’m thinking “I don’t even remember eating THAT”.


10 posted on 11/18/2010 8:45:50 PM PST by bigheadfred (/s)
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To: MetaThought

Interesting indeed.


11 posted on 11/18/2010 8:58:06 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Islam is the religion of Satan and Mohammed was his minion.)
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To: MetaThought

Thank you for posting this link. Very interesting article.


12 posted on 11/18/2010 9:03:01 PM PST by Siouxz
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To: MetaThought

Thanks so much for posting this. I know people whom this will help.


13 posted on 11/18/2010 9:07:30 PM PST by married21 (As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.)
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To: Bean Counter

True, but sometimes I have to tell them to STFU. LOL


14 posted on 11/18/2010 9:15:43 PM PST by goat granny
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To: MetaThought

It is a fascinating article. I wonder about the lingering effects that the introduction of the Herpes Simplex Virus (type1) has on psychopathology. What makes a psychopath a psychopath. Is it also a virus?


15 posted on 11/18/2010 9:17:53 PM PST by bigheadfred (I thought I was being series)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Thanks for the ping to this very interesting article.


16 posted on 11/18/2010 10:19:43 PM PST by JulieRNR21 (Republicans need to remember that Americans voted a restraining order for Obama on 11/2)
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To: Domestic Church

DNA is like a dirty window. It’s works in spite
of all the flaws. It’s amazing how well things
work with all the flaws. Conventional software
is brittle by comparison.


17 posted on 11/18/2010 10:39:48 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: Domestic Church

DNA is like a dirty window. It’s works in spite
of all the flaws. It’s amazing how well things
work with all the flaws. Conventional software
is brittle by comparison.


18 posted on 11/18/2010 10:39:58 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: Myrddin

My Android phone did a double post. :-(


19 posted on 11/18/2010 10:43:59 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: LucyT; CholeraJoe

Very interesting article!


20 posted on 11/18/2010 11:49:15 PM PST by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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