Thorfinn 
 
— 
 
The policy of all-out collectivization instituted by Stalin in 1929 to finance industrialization had a disastrous effect on agricultural productivity. Nevertheless, in 1932 Stalin raised Ukraine’s grain procurement quotas by forty-four percent. This meant that there would not be enough grain to feed the peasants, since Soviet law required that no grain from a collective farm could be given to the members of the farm until the government’s quota was met. Stalin’s decision and the methods used to implement it condemned millions of peasants to death by starvation. Party officials, with the aid of regular troops and secret police units, waged a merciless war of attrition against peasants who refused to give up their grain. Even indispensable seed grain was forcibly confiscated from peasant households. Any man, woman, or child caught taking even a handful of grain from a collective farm could be, and often was, executed or deported. Those who did not appear to be starving were often suspected of hoarding grain. Peasants were prevented from leaving their villages by the NKVD and a system of internal passports.  
 
The death toll from the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine has been estimated between six million and seven million. According to a Soviet author, “Before they died, people often lost their senses and ceased to be human beings.” Yet one of Stalin’s lieutenants in Ukraine stated in 1933 that the famine was a great success. It showed the peasants “who is the master here. It cost millions of lives, but the collective farm system is here to stay.”  
 
—

sk 
 
psychotherapy = placebo effect 
 
Stick needles in people and give it a name (acupuncture) and a lot of folks will experience significant pain relief.

Yet another possible instigator. 
 
Link found between Tick-borne encephalitis and schizophrenia 
 
Kynurenic acid is usually present in low concentrations in the brain, but levels of the substance rise dramatically in the central nervous systems of people with TBE. The same phenomenon is seen in people with schizophrenia. 
 
“Kynurenic acid is a substance in the brain which, put simply, can produce confusion,” said Schwieler.

Fly 
 
Thanks for the link, it’s interesting that they found Schiz so heritable. Maybe this study was at the high end or maybe certain genes really do create a lot of susceptability.  
 
But regardless of the genes involved scientists know that maternal exposure to flu virus during the first trimester increases Schiz by about 700%! Ouch. The interesting part is that the flu virus doesn’t cause the damage. It’s the mothers immune response to the flu virus, specifically Interleukin-6 that triggers the damage. They know to look for flu virus but obviously any pathogen that triggers that protein can cause the damage that leads to Schiz. That’s going to be a LOT of things. Toxoplasma and possibly TBE appear to be instigators as well. 
 
This link (and apparently whole site) is down right now but it talks about the 700% increase due to flu virus. 
http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/000458.html  
 
(hope I got the 700% right, but the link is kaput)

agnostic 
 
It’s like if there’s some rare variant that mediates the outcome of a gunshot wound: he died because he got shot. 
 
You nailed it.  
 
Let me add that I’ve grown tired of the phrase “this disorder is the result of a complicated interaction betwen genes and environment.” Every trait & disorder on this planet falls into that category. That’s science double-speak for, “We don’t know.”

Fly 
 
twin studies show heritability over 80% 
 
Do you have a link for that? I’ve never heard that Schiz or any other common mental disorder is that heritable.

kaleidoscopik 
 
How does schizophrenia with onset in your mid-20s affect fitness? Hasn’t most of the world reproduced by then? 
 
Parents are more than sperm doners. They still need to raise their children and later help with their grandchildren. In the modern world most people’s genes should get them to 60 or so. I hope mine get me a lot farther than that.

Fly 
 
The argument about 1000 different rare mutations is purely academic. Scientists know today that most cases of Schiz are the result of environmental damage. 
 
Flu virus alone accounts for 15% to 20% of all cases. 
 
Flu and Schizophrenia 
Maternal Flu Linked To Schizophrenia, Autism In Child

Another good link. 
 
Pet Cat Parasite Linked to Schizophrenia Risk  
 
I liked this sentence, “The current study is part of a series of nested case-control studies looking at proposed associations between psychotic disorders and selected infectious agents, Dr. Niebuhr and colleagues said.” 
 
This and other stories tells me that a lot of scientists are looking in the right direction.

Schiz is in most cases caused by environmental damage. Another 1,000+ genetic studies aren’t going to change that. 
 
Schizophrenia linked to immune response in womb 
 
I could post 10 more links like this but the spam filter would block me. Toxoplasma, flu virus, TBE, extreme maternal stress can all lead to Schiz.

Old And Busted: Common genes cause common disorders 
 
New Hotness: Super rare mutations cause common disorders

You think the fertility rate is low now? Just wait until male birth control hits the market. Women have a long history of tricking eligible males into impregnating them. That game is in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Concerned

Do you think it’s possible that a treatment for male homosexuality might be as simple as hormone replacement therapy?

This is a very likely possibility but it’s years away. Scientists have already done this with Fruit Flies.

“It was amazing. I never thought we’d be able to do that sort of thing, because sexual orientation is supposed to be hard-wired,” he said. “This fundamentally changes how we think about this behavior.”

godlesscapitalist

There are several mental illnesses in which affected people believe that they’re not ill, including schizophrenia:

Gay people didn’t just convince themselves that they don’t have a mental quirk. They convinced half of society of the same thing.

Obviously they’re wrong which makes this no small accomplishment. I guess it proves that if you work hard enough you can accomplish anything.

Tattoos and piercings are deal killers for me. They look like an advertisement for herpes.

my 2 cents

Brutus,

My first instinct is to agree with you. Gay men are more promiscuous because they are men.

However a 2007 brain scan study by Michael Bailey suggests that gay men are more excited by sexual imagery than we are.

It’s hard for me to believe that anyone could be MORE excited by sexual imagery than straight guys.

Sondra Solomon from the NYT piece.

i have no comment

Slightly off topic, back to Cochran’s gay germ theory.

In the real world could parasites really alter a hosts behavior for their own benefit?

Yup. It happens every day.

From today’s Science Daily

Parasitoid Turns Its Host Into A Bodyguard