I don't think it's in the Pacific, but the rest is probably about right. There's probably more than one, and here's two of them:

This conversation began with us talking about modification to the human germ line.

Why? Most of them are harmless, and with most of the rest if you stay out of their way they will stay out of yours. They also have important implications in the control of things that really are a problem, like mosquitoes.

First, autism is genetic. It's clearly heritable, and research is under way to identify it in utero.

Some true spiders (the wolf spiders) also carry their young around. I once saw a spider with a very odd-looking, uneven abdomen on my tent. On closer inspection it turned out she was carrying several little spiderlings. I was unable to get a decent photo, but here is a much better one of a really cute Pardosa amentata…

They're not spiders.

Thank you.

I would say sometimes.

Feel free to "assume" whatever you like, but I will tell you that my misanthropy is the direct result of my position in society, which is the direct result of discrimination through being at one end of the spectrum. If you are dehumanised sufficiently, this has consequences. One of those consequences is that yes, I…

No, I'm not happy with how I interact with the world. I'm socially isolated, and likely to remain unemployed, but that is not because of who I am, it's because of how your vile, stinking society functions, and the fact that your species refuses to accept difference.

As an Aspie, I find that attitude abhorrent.

That's the trouble. It's NOT being approached carefully and thoughtfully. You have Autism $peaks specifically funding research into the genes that are associated with autism (over the heads of the anti-vaxxers in the band, it's true). I can think of only one reason for this.

This is not a “way back when”, scenario. I ended up in a heated debate on IO9 last night about the ethics of conducting germ line work on human embryos in the interests of “curing” disease, from ALS (maybe) to Asperger syndrome (my thoughts on this, as an Aspie, are not repeatable). It seems to be okay if the embryo…

I read comments on a thread on IO9 yesterday, in the context of the new research on modifying the human germ line, that is is acceptable to conduct research on humans with only the consent of the parents, provided it’s for the good of the species, and provided they think they’re “curing” something that needs “curing”.

or any other host of conditions or illnesses that either significantly reduce the quality of life the embryo could expect to enjoy

That's what the last paragraph is all about.

This is a somewhat unsatisfying article. The first way that apple eaters might differ from the rest of the population is simply that they are more likely to be eating more fresh fruit, which we already know has health benefits above a certain level.

Okay, but you're talking about a litre or two, not several gallons. It adds to the total but, given that we're talking about averages to begin with, not enough to take it out of the expected range. We're talking about a few per cent here.

Yes, you wrote this while I was tapping away on a calculator. See my workings below.

They are, actually. I've given my workings in another post, and I'm pretty sure the original author has her sums wrong, by a factor of five.