Gene Study shows Sex Differences Go Deep

This is interesting, and suggests that the jing level of men and women function differently, even though both men and women are operating on the same principles. Supports my thesis that every practice can be done using a yin,yang, or wu wei appraoch.
michael

GENE STUDY SHOWS SEX DIFFERENCES GO DEEP
Reuters
July 7, 2006

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060707/sc_nm/science_sex_dc

WASHINGTON – Thousands of genes behave differently in the same organs of
males and females, researchers reported on Friday, a finding that may help
explain why men and women have different responses to drugs and diseases.

Their study of brain, liver, fat and muscle tissue from mice showed that
gene expression — the level of activity of a gene — varied greatly
according to sex.

The same is almost certainly true of humans, the team at the University of
California Los Angeles reported.

“This research holds important implications for understanding disorders such
as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and identifies targets for the
development of gender-specific therapies,” said Jake Lusis, a professor of
human genetics who worked on the study.

Writing in the August issue of Genome Research, the researchers said that
even in the same organ, scores of genes varied in expression levels between
the sexes.

The smallest differences were in brain tissue, they found.

“We saw striking and measurable differences in more than half of the genes’
expression patterns between males and females,” said Dr. Thomas Drake, a
professor of pathology. “We didn’t expect that. No one has previously
demonstrated this genetic gender gap at such high levels.”

Xia Yang, a postdoctoral fellow in cardiology who led the study, said the
implications are important.

“Males and females share the same genetic code, but our findings imply that
gender regulates how quickly the body can convert DNA to proteins,” Yang
said in a statement. “This suggests that gender influences how disease
develops.”

In liver tissue, the findings imply male and female livers function the
same, but at different rates.

“Our findings in the liver may explain why men and women respond differently
to the same drug,” Lusis said.

“Studies show that aspirin is more effective at preventing heart attack in
men than women. One gender may metabolize the drug faster, leaving too
little of the medication in the system to produce an effect.”

Yang added, “Many of the genes we identified relate to processes that
influence common diseases. This is crucial, because once we understand the
gender gap in these disease mechanisms, we can create new strategies for
designing and testing new sex-specific drugs