Mark's Daily Apple

23andMe

Picture this. The year is 2051 and the large biotech company, Probiogenic Solutions, has made huge advances in human genetic research. Backed by internet superpower Google, they have decided to bring their technology to the masses. “Genetics just got personal” is their motto.

It has been decades since Watson and Crick discovered that the human blueprint, at its core, lies in the ever-spiraling structure of the double helix. Since that day in 1953, nearly one hundred years prior, the mysteries uncovered in the tiny strands of DNA speak to the nature of life itself.

Now Probiogenic Solutions wants you to have the information locked up within your cells. The information that can shed light on who you are, where you are from, and what you are made of is at your (and in your) fingertips. Probiogenic Solutions is your modern soothsayer.

Just a sample of your saliva is all it takes.

Posted By: Aaron

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We Couldn’t Possibly Hate Americans Any More (Love, Wal-Mart)

Ah, Wal-Mart. The unfurled flags, the cheery patriotism, the aw-shucks Americana.

Not.

Prices are always falling at Wal-Mart, but the speed with which this American corporation slashes its ethics continues to best even the cheapest foreign-made widget’s gleeful descent into the dollar bin.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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The Age of Speed: If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Hurry Up

The world is moving faster and we are finding ever more ways to be connected. PDAs, cell phones, texting, twittering, blogging, wifi, Hotspots, iPhones, iPods – who can keep up? Life is stressful enough, but it seems every commercial I see these days is bragging about the featured product’s ability to give you more and faster ways to do work in your car, on the subway, even on your vacation!

Slow down and you risk watching the world (and possibly that hot career opportunity) speed by. Try to master it all and you risk burnout. It’s only been a decade since we all got truly accustomed to using and shopping the web and talking on our mobiles while we drive. I don’t have the cage-fighting skills my teen texters possess (though I get to pay the bills). I confess I’m amazed at how rapidly kids these days can consume and master new technology and media. But Vince Poscente makes an interesting argument in his new book The Age of Speed: rather than slow down and avoid joining the fray, jump in to avoid being stressed out by it. In other words, to beat the game, you have to play it, not sit it out. Is this hyper zen?

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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Candy Coated WHAT?

The Fuming Fuji does not know what to do, but it rhymes with dexplode. What is this product of unspeakable sugarness? Fuji is baffled. This is a very difficult thing, to baffle a genius.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Glyconutrients: a Sweet Scam

There are essential fatty acids. There are essential amino acids. There are not essential sugars. We’ve received so many questions about glyconutrients, I feel it’s necessary to respond here at the blog.

For the record, “glyconutrients” are worse than bogus – they are a scam. This term was invented by a multi-level marketing company called Mannatech. (While MLM’s aren’t all bad, they can certainly be a red flag.) In this case, the entire concept of supplementing with “glyconutrients” – minute amounts of plain old simple sugars – is not only unscientific; it’s just silly. There is simply no compelling evidence to support the glyconutrient claim that the human body is somehow deficient in certain forms of sugar due to our modern lifestyle. Among the many dubious and weasel-worthy “explanations”, the central claim is that scientific discoveries in recent decades have shown that there are 8 types of sugar and that your cells – gasp – use these sugars. I’ve had burps that are more mind-blowing than this “science”.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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