Comments on: The Jumping Frenchman of Maine Disorder

By: Misty

Misty — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 09:40:19 +0000

Thank you for this article. My nephew has many health problems. They are testing for abnormal genes. This article helps to understand this illness. Thank you

By: Rodger Wrighthead

Rodger Wrighthead — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:54:39 +0000

I remember reading that incest results in no mutations in offspring but a higher likelihood of the full expression of recessive genes which could result in defects in the offspring (a big easy example being sickle cell anemia). As far as “unwanted mutations” go you are not more likely to spontaniously mutate if your parents happen to be related. That doesn’t however make it any less icky…

By: lizdini

lizdini — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:00:31 +0000

This has gotten really off point from the article, but heres my two cents:

Almost all cultures have some taboo on incest, most likely as a way to prevent unwanted mutations, some more then others; like being able to marry your first cousin but not your uncle, or your mother’s sister’s children but not her brother’s children.

Although I have no direct incest in my line as far as I’m aware (although it’s true that mathamaticly it’s impossible not to at some point in the past), my Grandfather’s Aunt is also his Grandmother. He is desended from her step-father. And before you judge, you try being a single woman past marrying prime in the 1920’s.

I agree that saying someone’s afliction is amusing is both childish and perverse, regardless of the reason for the afliction. You certainly wouldn’t care for it if the situation was reversed.

By: vacuumcleanerbot

vacuumcleanerbot — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 23:58:36 +0000

I'm reminded of Cosmo Kramer.

By: ifeelya

ifeelya — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:14:05 +0000

Oh, sweet jayzus. Would you people pu-leeze let go of the psychobabble? Any neurotoxin will do some wild stuff to the nervous system. Check out excitotoxins. Fascinating little things. I may just have to post an article on what it's like to live with that kind of damage. And then I may have to post another on what it's like to deal with Psych majors who don't have to live with it. Did you know that some people with that kind of startle reflex experience it as a kind of whole-body nerve pain?

Then you end up guilt-tripping dunderheads who enjoy torturing you because you'd have to wire AC current to their testicles to really get even. And that would be illegal. Well, unless they're into that sort of thing. Or unless they're Psych majors, I guess. Then it's a damn interesting experiment and they should get extra credit.

By: adamj.

adamj. — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 01:26:00 +0000

41st!

Ok, first things first, again what a great site Di is!

Fredrated said: ""evolution describes the fact that in a given set of organisms, those which manage to survive are the same ones that do most of the breeding." Do we know how much of the breeding is done by those that don't survive?"

HaHaHaHaHa!

By: tom_squick

tom_squick — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:23:15 +0000

I think I work with one of these guys. He has like 3 rear view mirrors on his monitor and no matter how gently I announce myself, he just about jumps out of his skin.

By: cowenowner

cowenowner — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 13:49:23 +0000

If the disease is caused primarily by a mutation of the glycine receptor it makes for some interesting conclusions about how the brain works. Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and concentrated in the spinal cord. If these patients are following orders or echoing commands it would suggest that the capacity to inhibit these habitual stimulus-response pairs occurs at the level of the spinal cord. To me that is surprising, especially for verbal commands which must take some degree of cognitive processing, as I usally think of such inhibition as occuring in the brain and the motor command being blocked at the brain level. Our friends the Jumping Frenchment seem to suggest that all of our repressed responses make it all the way down to the spinal cord before they are repressed. Cool. Viva the lizard brain.

I guess that means if I want to know everyones hidden desires (well responses at least), all I have to do is implant some electrodes into the spinal cord. Any volunteers?

-C

By: NinerSevenTango

NinerSevenTango — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:07:33 +0000

VIRUS ALERT:

AVG Antivirus reports that following the link to Researcher’s site results in an attempted installation of a backdoor trojan that exploits a windows server service vulnerability.

Tries to install a file called Win1.exe.

If you’ve been there, scan your system!

–97T–

By: sierra_club_sux

sierra_club_sux — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 05:10:28 +0000

Julie said: "Honestly, people, where is your compassion?"

Must be southern Cal... no humor there...