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Neurological Impact of of Poverty on Depression
By Will Gerber
Quality public-facing science writing appeals to readers by maintaining the complexity of the topic it is discussing without flying over the readers’ heads. Susan Scutti’s article “Effects Of Poverty Impact Gene Expression In The Brain” does this exceptionally well. It provides enough background on the topic for the reader to understand without being overwhelmed, and explains the results of the study in a similar fashion. It begins at the top, with a quick synopsis of DNA’s role in protein production, how chemical tags can modify the amount of a protein produced, and seamlessly connects these to the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin’s role in depression.
Scutti does not get into too much detail about the experimental process, but rather affirms its validity by describing its population size and bias removal (132 white teenagers from differing socioeconomic statuses). When relaying the experiment’s results, she returns to her introductory science lesson about protein production; “Teens growing up in impoverished households accumulated, over the course of three years, greater quantities of the chemical tag SLC6A4, the depression linked gene.”
To wrap up the article, Scutti outlines the importance of this specific study and describes further research. In doing this she makes the reader look forward to new developments in the field.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/effects-poverty-gene-expression-major-depression-387656