2013: 1483). It notes that although genetic markers "are known for individuals of European ancestry, but whether the same or different variants account for the genetic risk of Alzheimer disease in African-American individuals" was unknown before the study (Reitz et al. 2013: 1483). In contrast, the Kolata piece seemed to suggest that the association was very much a 'known' quantity, even though it had not yet been directly proven. The conclusion of the article restates what is noted in the Times piece, namely that there are no significant genetic variations between the patterns of susceptibility in the two groups. In many ways, quite surprisingly, in this individual instance the New York Times article was more illuminating about the genetic cause of Alzheimer's than the scholarly article, carefully explaining why certain genetic (as opposed to lifestyle) factors link heart disease and Alzheimer's and also how specific genetic patterns result in a redisposition for the disorder. The...

It also seeks to justify the importance of the research that was accomplished. The research might be useful in terms of eliminating epigenetic and environmental factors that are suspected in contributing to Alzheimer's, but overall the independent scientists quoted by the Times that dismissed the research as less-than-earthshaking seems valid.