Page Audio Episode 3 - Twin Studies

The transcription is a conversation between two people discussing various topics, such as the start of summer, the impact of sunshine on mood, personal experiences with nail care, and the history and importance of twin studies in research. The conversation touches on the role of genetics and the environment in shaping individuals, as well as the concept of epigenetics and its influence on gene expression. Overall, the conversation is light-hearted and covers a range of casual topics. Me too. Okay, so when you're ready, we'll clap in three, two, one. All right. Hi, Maggie. So good to see you. I'm good. Happy Memorial Day weekend. So, right, I know everybody says that, but it's still cold and gloomy where I am. But we have a friend who wears these like amazing outfits. It's like a matching short and shirt set, and they all have fruit patterns on them. And he only wears them during summer. So we call it like our Groundhog's Day, like when he wears like the fruit short and shirt set. That's when you know summer has really started. And I kid you not. Yesterday, I'm sitting on or we were hanging out in the living room and my fiance's on the balcony. And he goes, Paige, get outside right now. And walking down the street is our friend in his summer outfit. It's the banana short and shirt set. And we're like, oh, my God, it's summer. So it was like it was amazing. It was a moment. So that's how we officially know summer started. Yeah. Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like everybody is like determined to get into the water until you touch it and it's cold. And then everybody is like, no, actually, I'm out backing out. But yeah. The aesthetic. No, it's crazy, though, like the sun just makes such a huge difference in the way that I feel. Like I was literally walking down the street last week. It was sunny walking the dog. And I was thinking in my head, I am so grateful for what I have. What a beautiful day. I feel like my depression is cured. Like I don't need the antidepressants anymore. What's happening? And I literally realized, oh, my God, it's just sunshine. That is the only difference. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Makes such a big difference. Yeah, absolutely. So what do you have planned this weekend? Oh, my gosh. On a Saturday. Nice. I love that. I love that. That's lovely. That sounds amazing. Oh, that sounds delicious. It's 1245 and I'm like thinking that sounds really good. See, again, the sun, it like the sun makes me want to like start drinking at noon. And it makes me want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on things that I don't need. I don't know what what it is. There's got to be some, I don't know, psychological explanation for that. Yeah. Yeah, and I am trying to transition to like natural deodorant. And it's rough. So I'm with you. I'm with you on that. There's just nothing like the aluminum. It just really does the trick. Yeah, exactly. It does the trick. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, no, I but I don't mind it. I feel like it's, I don't know, it's just part for the course. Yes, I do. Because I spend a lot of my day in a sound booth, which is very small, and it's hot. So if you have any kind of body odor, it's quite in your face. So yeah, we just like I keep some in my drawer and we just we reapply. But it's all right. I think a little natural smells, you know, I'm a hippie at heart. So I don't mind it as long as it's not overwhelming. Yeah, distracting. But well, I, I decided this weekend that I would learn how to do my own nails. Because I'm not spending, it's goddamn inflation is hitting every corner of the market. I do. Yeah. And thank you. So I bought a like fake nail set, and then like a curing light. And it's, they look good from about three feet away. So, but if anybody takes a look for longer than two seconds, it's, it's pretty, it's rough. Yeah, so we're gonna we're gonna get better. But that's my that was my like, goal this year to try to save money. And this is one of the ways that I'm hoping to save money. But we'll see. Yeah. Exactly, exactly. And then, and then you have to have cash for a tip. And then I never remember to bring cash. Then you have to use the ATM that has a $4 charge. And by the time you walk out of there, you're $120 in the hole. I can't keep living like that. Again. And then they just stare at me and I'm like, Okay, I'll use the ATM. I'm so sorry, because I do feel like I should tip. Yeah, exactly. But they conveniently have an ATM right there. But I knew that it was time to just start doing it myself when the last time that I went to go get my I get gel nails. And when I went to go get them done, she just put glitter on top of all of them. And by the time she was on the second nail was when I noticed and at that point, it's too late. I don't know if there was a communication breakdown that happened, but I had glitter, blue glitter. Yeah, well, I had blue underneath. And I feel like that alone is a little risky. But then glitter, it was it was a lot. But so I just decided I'm just going to do it myself from now on. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, but. Oh, look, it was their gaslighting her. Delicate skin is are some people skin thicker than others. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Poor thing. Oh, gosh, that's hilarious. Well, she should go on Amazon and buy her own set. It was great. It works fantastic. So, yeah, I would highly recommend taking them off. It's going to be interesting. I may not have any nail left, but I have no idea. I just ordered some extra strength acetone, and I'm hoping that that does the trick. But we'll see. Wish me luck. That, too. You know, I think that we just we all think far too far in the future. And I think we just need to live in the moment and not worry about how they're going to come off and just enjoy. Enjoy the aesthetic for now. So we'll see. But I do feel like it kind of. Yeah, I try to stick on and one of them came off immediately, and then I have to just take them all off. Like, you can't. Yes. Okay. I like that. Yeah, I think that's probably their best what they're best suited for. But I do feel like my personality has changed now that I have long nails. Where everything is. I have to talk with my hands when I tell any story. Yeah, I am now a hand talker, and everything is very animated because I now have long nails. Yeah, I'm now doing. I have an ASMR podcast now that I have long nails. It's great. But, yeah, I love it. I love it. Yeah, it's a vibe. So you said that you had a little story for me. I'd love to hear it. Mm-hmm. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. I hope. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. 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We're going to be talking about twin studies, and I have always been very fascinated with genetics and twins in general, just, I mean, they're just like very captivating. Like when you see a set of twins, I don't know, it's just something very fascinating and interesting about them. But what I didn't know, yeah, oh my gosh, I feel like they probably, I feel, sometimes I feel bad for people that are twins, probably getting the same questions like every time from new people that they meet, I'm sure. Like, so do you guys have the same taste in men? Do you guys like do everything together? Like did your parents dress you the same? Yeah, exactly. I must get so old. But there's, twin studies have a really interesting history in science and specifically in the study or the, you know, the quest to answer the question of nature versus nurture. And so just to give a little bit of background on why that's so and why they're so valuable in the research community is that monozygotic, meaning identical twins, they share 100% of their DNA, which makes sense. That's why they're, you know, why they're identical. And dizygotic or fraternal twins share 50% of their DNA. Now that's the same amount as non-twin siblings. So for example, you and your, you and your brother, you and your sister share the same amount of DNA as fraternal twins do. So the way that identical twins can help us in research is we can look at the, if there is a difference in a trait, so actually let me rephrase that. If a trait is more common between identical twins than fraternal twins, that trait can then be assumed to be genetic. Does that make sense? So if you, so there's these databases and there are like hundreds of thousands of twins that get entered into these databases, depending on the country. Some you do it without consent, others you have to kind of opt into and consent. So we'll look at, for example, you know, the occurrence of a cancer. If it's more common between identical than fraternal twins, you can kind of assume that then it would be, for example, genetic, but there's some, yeah, there's some limitations to that. But in general, that's kind of where identical twins are helpful in research. Twin studies, twin studies are one of the only ways that we can really determine genetic influence on likelihood of someone developing a medical condition, like for example, cancer, eating disorders, autism, obesity, but also in looking into like sexual preference as well. So it's got a wide application. Yeah, so I think it's kind of, it's interesting because it has a lot of really important influence on a lot of different areas. So it's important, important field of research. So historically, the history of twin research is a little bit colored. Francis Galton, who was one of the earliest people to research twins around 1875, and really quick, I can hear myself in your, and we can edit this out, I can hear myself in when I'm talking, and I don't know if it's maybe because the output is coming out of your headphones into the mic. Does that make sense? So maybe we, that's better. Yeah, I can just hear myself echo like a second after one, two, three, and it's really distracting when you're like, you can hear it. Okay, because it's like a two second lag. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that's perfect. Just because it's like a two second lag, it's like, very weird. Okay, let me just turn down my volume and maybe it'll be a little bit better. My like output. Okay. Okay. So I'm going to jump back in. Okay. So to give you some historical reference on twin studies, Francis Galton was one of the earliest people to research twins around 1875 was when he was alive and getting into the twin research realm. His work led him down a bit of a dark path, though, and his work led him to believe that intelligence is largely heritable, meaning inherited. So like smartness would be in your genes. And he became like one of the leading proponents of eugenics, which is the theory that selective breeding could lead to like a better, highly gifted race. Yeah. So yeah. Exactly. Why is, why is he so into twins? Yeah. So yeah, he's, we don't like Galton. Yeah. He's out. So he basically, and then also would like encourage and put into practice things called positive measures, which encourage people with preferred traits to reproduce, and then negative measures, which included like forced sterilization and promoting marriage for those with unfavorable traits, or sorry, prohibiting marriage for those with unfavorable traits like disabilities and low IQ. Exactly. Well, it's 1875. Yeah. Yeah. This dude had the biggest God complex, clearly, he's trying to, he's trying to, he's trying to play God, like, I don't believe God, that's another story. But yeah, anyways, he, but the interesting thing is that he was actually a cousin of Charles Darwin. So it's kind of fascinating. It sounds like they had two very different viewpoints. When he shows up at the dinner table, yeah, they're like, oh, there's Francis again. The Galapagos, right? Yeah, I probably would have done the same thing if yeah, if I was cousins with Francis, I'm sorry. Francis is like, the cousin that you like, lie about that you're not getting together with the rest of the family that you actually are just so that he doesn't come. Yeah. So good on Darwin for getting the hell out of there. Because, because the Francis. No. That's a good question. Yikes. Yeah, I don't know if he's canceled. That's a good question. We should look that up. We should look that up. I feel like every white man in 1875 did something definitely that would put them on the cancel list. So we can just we can just kind of assume. But Francis Galton definitely canceled because the eugenics principle was used to support the Holocaust in the Nuremberg trials. So we are eugenics is not not it. We. Yeah, I know. Yeah. So anyways, that is that was kind of like the birth of twin studies. That was really when it was recognized to be something that could be helpful in research and science, but not when it's used that way. Yeah. So we're not going to use it in a racist way. But there is a really good racist and ableist way. But there is a really good place for twin studies in our world still today. And again, we're still thinking, you know, nature versus nurture. But I think we need to rethink that principle. And now we're really looking at nature and nurture. And it's not one or the other. Our genes don't you know, they're not a blueprint for exactly who we're going to be. But we also know that nature, our environment, how we're raised, isn't exactly isn't 100 percent going to predict who we are and what we become. So it's always going to be a combination of both. But there are always traits that may have an influence. And so that's how we use twin studies now is to kind of just try to determine, you know, what are the what are the genetic factors that might predispose somebody to X, Y and Z? So the big area of research that we're looking at now is something called epigenetics. Are you familiar with epigenetics? OK, so for those who don't know. And go. Go, I need to hear it. I hate when people do that when you're like. So it's this is like the definition and I'm not a geneticist, but this is the definition that I read. It's about how environmental factors can turn on or off certain gene expressions. And so one of one of the mechanisms of that is something called methylation. And methylation is something that can turn off a gene. And that is controlled, we think, purely by environmental factors or partially by environmental environmental factors. So, for example, those events or influences that can turn methylation on could include an intrauterine environment. So, for example, if your mom was pregnant during the famine, babies were more likely to have schizophrenia than other babies where their parents weren't malnourished. So your intrauterine environment turned on that gene that you maybe were predisposed to for schizophrenia. Whereas somebody with the same, let's say an identical twin who is, you know, raised in a different environment may not necessarily develop schizophrenia. Other factors that may influence methylation include malnutrition. So not just of the mom, but also of the child. And these are mostly like early childhood events. Stress or trauma. And then exposure to toxins is a big one as well. So we're going to talk about two studies that looked at sets of twins and were able to give us some information about what traits are heritable and what traits may be more able to be influenced by our environment or potentially that methylation. So epigenetics are genes being turned on or off. So, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So the twin, like where twins are really important is that you can have two twins, so identical DNA, DNA, DNA, identical DNA. And then if they're separated, meaning they live in two different homes or environments, how do they end up? And then you can see which genes are potentially susceptible to a change. And it's attributed to epigenetics and which traits, even if they're raised in totally different environments, are the same. So that's like the value. Yes. And luckily, we don't have a lot of cases or examples because we try to keep twins together, of course. So the first study that we have was done in 1990. So actually not that long ago. I guess they were still separating twins at birth. So like you could have adoptive parents. Each one could adopt one of the twins. And yeah, I know. It's interesting that this is a more recent policy to not split up twins. I can't imagine what it would be like to find out that you have a twin, you know, I'm assuming after your 18th birthday or maybe never. So yeah. And then you hear those stories of people that are separated. And they're like, I always felt like something was missing, you know. And so it would be, I'm assuming, very traumatic to be separated from your twin, even if you don't have the memory. It was probably, you know, a very traumatic experience. So this specific set of twins was separated at four weeks of age, adopted by separate families. And at age 39, they were reunited, found out that they had a twin. And they had so many similarities. It's insane. So they were both married and divorced to women named Linda. They both remarried to someone named Betty. Both had police training and worked part-time in law enforcement. They both had pets named Toy. Both smoked the same brand of cigarettes, drove light blue Chevys, chewed their fingernails to the nub, and both had first children named James Allen. I know. Isn't that crazy? So, I know, like, very... Linda methylated the shit out of him, and then they were like, she was a toxin, an environmental toxin. And Betty... So, actually, it was kind of hilarious because one of the men actually divorced Betty, the second wife. The other one didn't. And I thought, well, damn, the other Betty who's still married, I wonder if she's nervous. Exactly. Clearly, I'm next. Exactly. So, I think that's a really good example of two people that their genetics clearly shaped a lot of things in their lives. And they had a lot of similarities. But they were also, since they had the same job, they both worked at McDonald's, and then they both worked in law enforcement. They're both going to be in similar socioeconomic statuses. Exactly. I know. That's so weird. Yeah. So, it sounds like they really... A lot of the things that happened in their life ended up being similar. And I think we can attribute a lot of that to genetics, for sure. Because it's just, there's too many chance. Like, there's too many things for it to be explained by chance. But that being said, they're both in the same socioeconomic status, right? So, the same socioeconomic bracket, meaning they make the same amount of money, probably have the same opportunities, things like that. So, one would assume that they're going to be exposed to a lot of the same things that might change your projection in life, your health outcomes. So, their epigenetics are probably the same. Their genetics are the same. So, it's interesting, but it doesn't really give us a lot of useful information. So, there is a... Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And I think that's a very big question, for sure. And it's... Oh, my gosh. Yes. I know. That's okay. I like it. It's a big question, but I think, you know, at the end of the day, we all have our own ability to make our own choices and decisions. And I think genetics, you know, doesn't play a role into, you know, the choices that we make on a day-to-day basis. It probably has some influence, but I think you can override a lot of things. You know, for example, you know, they probably both didn't need to smoke, and they probably... One of them could have stopped if he wanted to, right? But, you know, plenty of people that stopped smoking, but they're just predisposed and influenced. So, I don't know. It's a heavy question. Exactly. Oh, man. That's depressing to think that your type is already baked into your DNA. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What if, like, our, like, 23andMe evolves to, like, tell you where you're going to be in 30 years? I feel like it seems possible. Me neither. Unless I'm living in the Galapagos, looking at birds. Yeah. Yeah, I know. I mean, it seems like, hypothetically, you know, you might be able to get some insight into that if it really is genetic. You know, those things are genetically predisposed. But that being... Yeah, exactly. Sad story, of course, but it's, you know, these studies can be really valuable retrospectively. But, of course, sounds like we're trying to prevent that from happening if we can. So, the second study that I want to talk about, the families were from different socioeconomic statuses. So, this one's really interesting. And this one takes place in Colombia. So, the family... So, there's two families. Both families have sets of twins. Both sets of twins end up in, like, their version of the NICU, the Neonative Intensive Care Unit, which is where babies that just need a little bit of extra care and attention after they're born get treatment or get care. And so, both sets of twins are there. One twin from each set gets swapped. So, the whole switcheroo. So... Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. So, each family now has one baby from each set of twins. Okay? So, one set of... The one family, so they're going back to their home. Their home is in rural Colombia. They live on a farm, and they don't have access to, like, things like a TV or phones, things like that. So, they're just... It's a very rural community. The other family is a very wealthy family living in a big city with lots of opportunity, quality education, things like that. So, when the boys were, I think, in their, like, 20s? 25. When they were both... All sets were 25. They all ended up in the same city living and working at that point in their life. One of them was working... Yeah. One of them was working at a butcher shop. And a woman came in and said, Oh, my goodness. It's my friend. I think his name was Jorge. I'm not sure exactly. That was one of the four of them, but I don't know if it was the one working at the butcher shop. But let's just call him Jorge. So, he goes, I'm not Jorge. And she's like, Yes, you are. And he's like, No, I'm not. I'm X, Y, and Z. And she pulls up her phone on Facebook and shows him a picture of her friend who looks identical to him. And that's how they find out that they are actually not fraternal twins, like they were raised to think, but identical twins that were switched at birth. Yeah. I cannot imagine... Yeah. And... It's wild. So, the one set of twins that was raised in the country, neither of them had an education level past fifth grade, where the set of twins that was raised in the city with a more wealthy family, both were in graduate school at the time that they discovered that they had a twin. So, in this case, we're seeing that socioeconomic status opportunity has more of an influence in the sense of their education and their career than genetics did. So, I can't imagine being the one that was raised in the farm and finding out that your twin had such a different life and vice versa. It would be really... Shit! I'm still waiting for that to happen. They're like, wait, you didn't know? Different trajectory. Yeah. But a lot of the same like physical features, things like that. But the interesting thing, so they actually, the twins opted into a research study, which I think is amazing, like that they would volunteer to do that. And they studied their methylation and they found that the rural twins, so they did have some differences, like their DNA did look different when they studied it at 25. Mostly it was pretty similar, but there were some differences. And some of the things that they attributed those differences to in this research article are UV exposure and pesticides. Which I thought was kind of interesting. And they also said that those are, can be associated with socioeconomic status, which I thought was kind of interesting. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And pesticides. Yeah. So, I thought that was kind of fascinating. So, obviously this is a very small sample and we want to be very careful when we're making, drawing conclusions from small sample sizes. That's something to always keep in mind. We know in research, when we're interpreting research, that the better the sample size, the more we can trust the results. It's more generalizable. Is that a word? Okay. Okay. So, in studies about the same topic, methylation, epigenetics, studies with bigger sample sizes show that methylation can be attributed to about 25 differences in methylation. So, differences in changes in our genes, our epigenetics. 25% of those changes can be attributed to genetics alone. 75% can be attributed to genetics and environmental factors combined. And then 0% to environmental alone. So, it's kind of interesting. So, essentially genes are very important, but there are a lot of things that can, you know, change our trajectory, change our genetics. That's crazy that our genes can change over time. I still can't wrap my head around that. But, yeah, I think it's very fascinating. So, those are just two examples of one set of twins that, you know, things ended up very similar to them or for them. Another set of twins where they were raised in very different socioeconomic statuses and ended up having very different lives. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think you can, you know, you can kind of take that information and go either way where you can interpret it and say, like, well, I have no control and so I'm just going to let my life play out and what happens, happens. Yeah, what happens, happens, right? Because it's all planned. Or you can take that information and say, you know, like, wow, I really do have some control and I can dictate what happens and what my outlook and my trajectory is, you know, where I end up. So I think, you know, there's, yeah, it's very fascinating. That being said, those are, I think we're looking at big picture things. But when we are looking at, you know, genetic predispositions to different diseases, it's kind of the same thing. You know, it's like you may, one person may be more predisposed to that thing. But if they are also, for example, a smoker or immunocompromised or live in, you know, an area where they don't have as good access to health care, those kind of things are also going to, you know, play a role in what happens. So it's very interesting. Absolutely. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. I'd love to hear about it. Yeah, we'll definitely have to talk more about that. The last study that I want to talk about is one that's a little bit more current. And the findings weren't as, like, shocking as the other studies. But I do think it's kind of an interesting research study design. And recently there was a set of twins. You may have heard of them. They've been kind of, like, in the news a little bit. Mark and Scott Kelly. Scott is an astronaut, and he lived at the International Space Station for a year while Mark stayed on Earth. Have you heard about this? Yes, I think. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, and Maggie and I were both in college when Gabby Giffords was in the same city in college when Gabby Giffords was shot, tragically, in the shooting. Shot in the head. And survived and proceeded to, I think it was, like, a few months later, she, like, showed up to cast her vote for a very important bill. And she's amazing. Yeah, she was, she's, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she's incredible. And now she does a lot of gun violence and gun control advocacy, which makes sense. But, yeah, she's incredible. So, Mark stayed on Earth, and Scott went to space for a year. This kind of created a perfect study design to see how the body responds to being in space for a year. Because Mark is the control. So he's a perfect control, because they have the same genetics, and so any changes that differ between the two in that year, you can attribute to being in space. So, I think that's so cool. Yeah. And so, they found a lot of different things that changed. But I thought the one that was the most interesting, and I could totally see this, like, no pun intended, but taking off as, like, a trend in, like, wealthy, rich women that want to reverse aging, is that the telomere length actually shortened and collagen levels increased. Now, your telomere lengthens as you age. Mm-hmm. I believe so. And so it, like, almost... Yes, yeah. They thought that it would age him more, like they expected, I think, that the telomere would lengthen, and it actually shortened while he was in space. Because lengthening is normal. Mm-hmm. He came back. He is stunning. Gorgeous. Yes. He is now... Like, the side-by-side twin photos are just absolutely shocking, the difference. Now he's Mr. Steal Your Girl. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah, that's a good hypothesis. I don't know. And it didn't really say much in the article, because once he actually got down to Earth, and they, like, so they were doing these, like, check-ins while he's in space and running these tests, and then they did it, of course, when he was back to Earth, and most of the changes actually, like, went away. So they were reversed, like, once he came back to Earth. So the kind of... Yeah. And... Yeah. He's been through a lot. Yeah. It's been a real rollercoaster for Scott. Now he's... Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty crazy. Yes. Oh, my God. He had it while he was in space, and, yeah, it went back. Yeah. So the, like, kind of take-home from the articles that I read were just how resilient the body is in that sense, where, like, we can have our epigenetics, like, our genes can change, and then they can change back. So, like, for example, one example that I read was about, like, smoking. So when you smoke, that can actually change part of your genes. It can have some negative impacts. But once you stop, those epigenetics can actually go back to baseline. So very interesting. So the body is resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think it's really important for us to be resilient. And I think that's really cool that, you know, we have a lot of control. And I think it – that, I think, just nails down, you know, like you said, like, we have control. And I think, like, you know, maybe that destiny thing I'm not buying into as of yet. So. But I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And not always. Like, exactly. You're going to go take lots of selfies in space so everybody knows you were hot. Yeah. Gorge. Gorge. Do you think that's why Elon Musk looks like he's about 10 years younger than he is? His skin is, like, taut. I think he's probably dipping into the plastic surgery, but. I don't know. I could just see, like, women reading this and being like, all right, send me to space. Like, I'm going to shorten those telomeres. Oh, God. If I see this shit trending in L.A., I want to cut. Okay? This is a new, like. If the Kardashians are going to the International Space Station to. We know that they listen to our podcast. Oh, my goodness. Well. Yeah. Really perks your tits up. Oh. Oh, my gosh. That's a good point. Like, I wonder if you, like, stand and you just, like, collapse. You know what I mean? Like, if you, like, lose muscle mass, like, if you can't stand. That's so interesting. We'll have to look into that. All the aliens were so into me. I was like. I could get the hottest alien and now I'm back on Earth. I can't handle this. Send me back. What if aliens are just, like, really hot? And that's why. And we don't know. Hmm. Yeah. I don't know. We'll see. Well, that's all I have. I have. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah. Mm hmm. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. I think genetics is one of the most fascinating fields. Genetics and, like, ethical medical ethicism is so interesting. And I think a lot of, like, these studies, you know, you can kind of see how. I mean, we, you know, a lot of them. These ones didn't really border on, you know, ethical dilemmas. But a lot of, like, twin studies and, like, genetic studies. There's a lot of ethical questions that that can be raised. And genetics is so fascinating because we still. There's so much that we don't know. It's kind of like the deep sea. There's still. You know, I always tell my patients who did genetic testing when they were little to try to figure out, you know, the if there's a genetic reason for their disability or for a condition that they have, it's worth possibly testing again, because we may have in the last five years, 10 years, no, you know, tons more genes that we didn't know about previously that we may be able to kind of identify a cause. So it's really interesting. I should have become a geneticist. I'm so fascinating. Absolutely. It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Appreciation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I just wanted. Before we dive in, I just want to say that I have the utmost appreciation and respect for nurses. They deal with and do so many things on a day-to-day basis that, you know, your everyday person has A, no idea, and B, would not be able to handle. They do everything, and they're incredible people. And it's such a, like, underappreciated field that this week is really meant to, like, show appreciation, and it's just some of these hospitals have just really missed the mark, and it's tragic because, like, they deserve much better. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Nurses are badass. Yeah. I, last night, was just talking. 100%. Last night, I met a new friend who's a workplace attorney, and so they deal with, you know, people that are unionized, people that are suing their employers, and he literally said to me, no joke, he goes, man, nurses are fucking tough. He's like, I would not mess with a nurse. Like, they are ready to, like, stand up for what they believe in, fight for their patients, and fight for their rights. And I was like, that was pretty amazing. And I hadn't even told him that we were going to talk about this today, and it was just, like, such a, like, I'm like, I'm not surprised. Yeah, nurses are badass. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. They're more in touch with, yeah, with the patient needs a lot of the time, so. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That is so, just so tone deaf. But wait, I'm sorry, because we have to go back to the rock for a second, because I also saw a picture of this online, and it wasn't, like, a nice rock. It was, like, a dirty-ass rock, like, from the, like, an ugly rock from the ground, like, with dirt on it. Yeah. What? It's horrifically tone deaf. Okay. Mm-hmm. My jaw just hit the floor. That is, was it, please don't tell me it was a Ziploc bag. Oh, God. That's so insulting. Like, yeah, it's like, how about showing your love by, like, providing safe staffing ratios and, yeah, ensuring a lunch break, yeah, and breaks when needed. Oh, my goodness. Like, oh, there's so many things I can think of that would have been better than that. Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, right. Wait, half? Okay, I have so many questions. So many questions. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Meanwhile, we're, like, oh, I was just going to say, like, meanwhile, we're, like, you know, I feel like a lot of hospitals are, like, reusing things that they shouldn't be to, like, save money. It's, like, why don't, I don't know, it just irks me. It's, like, why don't we at least maybe just, like, send out, like, hey, this year we decided to put our resources or, you know, put this money into X, Y, and Z, something that you've been asking for. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Oh, my goodness. That can't be legal. It can't. That can't be legal. It can't. Oh, my gosh. So, these are, like, upper level. Like, these are, like, upper level. Oh, my gosh. That is horrible. Yeah. They probably couldn't handle it. Yeah. Yeah. Who came up with that? Yeah. They probably were, like, oh, my God, that was so stressful, so traumatic, I can't stay for the full day. Oh. Oh, that's so sad. That breaks my heart. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. That's how this works. Mm-hmm. I agree with you. Yeah. I agree with you. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.