Word: defective
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...absence of a formal agreement, nations are not obligated to turn over fugitives to each other. The U.S. and Russia do not have an extradition treaty, which led many dissidents to defect to America and seek political asylum during the Cold War. Fugitive U.S. financier Bobby Vesco allegedly stole $224 million from a Swiss mutual fund but avoided detection for years by hopping between Caribbean islands that did not have extradition laws (and once even tried buy his own island). And Lebanon's Mohammed Ali Hammadi, wanted in the for murdering a U.S. Navy passenger during the 1985 hijacking...
...otherwise healthy young woman had such serious problems. But Bram Alexander, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, told the Herald Sun on Sept. 17 that hospital staff did all that they could be expected to do in such a case. "A child with a congenital birth defect is hardly a welfare issue," said Alexander. "That is just something that happens from time to time...
Since the early 1990s, science has suggested a link between antisocial behavior and a defect in the gene that codes for an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A). A low level of activity on the MAO-A gene results in an excessive breakdown of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which helps keep humans calm and happy. The defect thereby increases the urge to react aggressively to threats or fears, leading MAO-A to be referred to as the "warrior" gene. (See 20 ways to get and stay happy...
...Beaver's study shows, not all carriers of the defective MAO-A gene join a gang, and not all gang members have the defect. It remains largely unknown how common the low-active gene variant is in the general population, though one 2002 study indicated that genetic factors, including MAO-A, account for as much as 50% of the population variance in risk for antisocial behaviors. Additionally, Beaver's and other studies have found that low levels of the MAO-A enzyme affect only men, despite the fact that the MAO-A gene is located on the X chromosome...
...much easier and cost-effective to modulate an individual's environment than it is to alter their genetic code," says Buckholtz. And until the gene is better understood, that investment will pay off for those with the MAO-A defect and those without...