Where does Identity come from? Scientific Article Reflection

The Article I chose is called: "Where Does Identity Come From?" This article is about your genes and if they truly regulate who you are. The author of this article writes about an experiment someone conducted with mice. In the experiment, about 40 interbred mice were in an enriched environment for 3 months. The environment had connecting tubes, tiers, and nesting sites. The purpose for such accommodations for the mice was to test how much their experiences influenced their true identity. For instance, they placed 20 wires on these mice to check their every move and location. Roaming entropy was calculated, which is how much one "explores". Someone who goes from work straight home has a low entropy and one who can be anywhere at any time has a high roaming entropy. The amount that they explored proved that the more exploratory mice showed proliferation in their neuron cells. This proved to the scientists and author that identity has to do with ones behavior. Although the experiment is not entirely accurate due to the fact that the mice were very closely related and taking into account epigenetic changes, makes the experiment all the more intriguing to find out more answers. This article connects to Genetics, what we learned in class was that each of our parents combined chromosomes would make who we are. Not only our parents but the choices and diets of their ancestors could also determine our fate. I chose this article because I thought it would go in depth about the content we learned in class about protein synthesis and the correlation between each of our parents. After reading it I realized that I may not be so much of a unique person. My roaming entropy is probably medium. I function better on a strict routine where I must do and be somewhere at a certain time so that I don't get lazy. I am also in favor of wandering. Routine also tends to bore me and I enjoy trying new things and going new places.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=where-does-identity-come-from&page=2