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What are Environmental Factors in Genomics?

Environmental factors in genomics refer to the conditions that shape how your genes are expressed, and they go far beyond physical aspects like weather, food, geography, or air quality. They also include social and economic influences, often described as privilege. Three key forms of privilege—financial resources, time, and food literacy—play a major role in determining whether someone can access healthy living conditions, rest, exercise, and informed dietary choices. The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to benefit from these privileges, while those in lower socioeconomic classes often lack them, making them more vulnerable to genetic predispositions for diseases such as obesity. Các yếu tố môi trường trong gen học là những điều kiện ảnh hưởng đến cách gen của bạn được biểu hiện, và chúng không chỉ giới hạn ở các khía cạnh vật lý như thời tiết, thực phẩm, địa lý hay chất lượng không khí. Chúng còn bao gồm các yếu tố xã hội và kinh tế, thường được gọi là đặc quyền. Ba dạng đặc...
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Monogenic vs. Polygenic Approaches in Genomics

Modern genomics can test your predisposition to certain diseases or traits. Here’s how it works: scientists identify SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), which are genetic markers found in less than 1% of the population. By sequencing your DNA, they compare your SNPs to those in existing databases and determine whether you may have certain genetic risks. However, this method has limitations. It is essentially a monogenic approach—matching one SNP in your DNA to one SNP in a reference set—while ignoring other factors that influence gene expression. Today, researchers increasingly use a polygenic approach, which considers multiple genetic variants together and incorporates environmental influences. This method acknowledges that your DNA sequence alone is not enough to predict health outcomes. To make accurate predictions, scientists must also include relevant information about your history, lifestyle, and environment. Gen học hiện đại có thể kiểm tra khả năng bạn mắc một số bệnh hoặc ...
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Why Gene Ancestry Testing is Controversial?

There are thousands of genetic ancestry testing services online today, such as 23andMe. These companies claim they can identify where your ancestors came from and even tell you what percentage of your DNA is “European,” “Asian,” or other categories. However, these claims have been widely criticized. Your genetic sequence cannot directly reveal your exact ancestral origins. Instead, it can only show how similar your DNA is to reference samples in the company’s database. In other words, the percentages don’t represent how much of an ethnicity you “are.” They simply indicate how closely your genetic markers resemble those found in certain populations. Hiện nay có hàng ngàn dịch vụ xét nghiệm phả hệ gen trực tuyến, chẳng hạn như 23andMe. Các công ty này tuyên bố rằng họ có thể xác định tổ tiên của bạn đến từ đâu và thậm chí cho biết bạn có bao nhiêu phần trăm DNA “châu Âu”, “châu Á” hoặc các nhóm khác. Tuy nhiên, những tuyên bố này đã bị chỉ trích rộng rãi. Trình tự gen của bạn không thể t...
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Being Born Again in a New Language

The reason I keep going with Vietnamese is not simply career prospects, friends, or culture. Of course, I love Vietnam and enjoy spending time with my Vietnamese friends, but I don’t think Vietnam is more special than any other country. I can imagine myself being just as fascinated by another language as I am with Vietnamese. The real reason is the feeling of being born again in Vietnamese. Since childhood, I was never fully the person I wanted to be—whether in Malaysia, Singapore, or Hong Kong. But each time I picked up a new language, I felt a subtle shift. My personality changes slightly in Chinese, English, and Malay. It wasn’t until I discovered Vietnamese—an entirely new language—that I felt like a blank sheet, ready to start over. The first time I was in Hanoi, everything felt fresh. No one knew me, no one understood me. That, to me, was freedom. I could redesign the kind of character, passion, and life story I wanted to show in this foreign land, through this foreign language. ...
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The Self-Help Trap

Time is democratic. We all get the same 24 hours in a day. What differs is how we spend it—our pace, our efficiency, our priorities. That’s where the whole industry of time management comes in, neatly packaged under the label of self‑help. I’ll admit: I enjoy self‑help content on YouTube. It lifts my mood, sparks motivation, and gives me a comforting sense of hope and direction. But I also recognize the catch. Self‑help isn’t really about delivering the achievements it promises; it’s about selling the feeling that you’re already on the road to success. It’s less about the destination and more about the dopamine hit of believing you’re moving forward. So here’s how I’ve come to see it: self‑help works best as a motivation pill, not the actual work itself. Take it when you need momentum, when you need that push to get started. But don’t confuse it with the grind. Work is still work. No amount of motivational videos or clever productivity hacks can replace the hours you have to put in you...
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What We Learn from Inventing Anna (2022)?

I just finished watching Inventing Anna (2022). It’s a great show, no doubt. The fact that the story is almost entirely based on true events is wild—and it also explains why there are no clear villains. Still, I’m convinced Anna is narcissistic, manipulative, and responsible for ruining many honest people’s lives. She is absolutely not innocent. One important takeaway for me is how the world today is fabricated by fame. You can literally fake fame into money and power, and Anna is the pinnacle of this game. She came from a grassroots Russian immigrant family in Germany, yet she styled herself brilliantly—fashionable, polished, and packaged perfectly for social media. She faked connections, pedigree, and relationships, using every trick to exchange them for a lavish lifestyle and to materialize her business out of nothing concrete. She also knew how to ride emerging ideologies and steer narratives in her favor. By repeating the story that she was a young female artist trying to break in...
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Three Hacks for the Flashcard Grind

Discipline is undeniably important, but is that really all there is? I often notice that half the time I struggle to finish my Anki flashcards, while the other half I can effortlessly review 500 in one sitting. On good days, motivation carries me; on bad days, discipline keeps me going. Yet the equation doesn’t feel that simple. Are there small hacks that can push me to learn more? I’ve found three that help: first, start as early as possible—treat flashcards like a prerequisite before tackling the day’s main duties. Second, change the setting—cafés, libraries, even gyms work; you don’t have to stay in the comfort of your room or bed. Third, take advantage of the midnight reset—once the clock passes twelve and a new day begins, review then; there’s no need to wait until morning if you’re still awake. Kỷ luật chắc chắn là quan trọng, nhưng liệu đó đã phải là tất cả chưa? Tôi thường nhận ra rằng có những lúc tôi chật vật để hoàn thành các thẻ Anki, trong khi những lúc khác tôi có thể dễ ...
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