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According to a USA Today article published online last week, Danica Patrick’s “need for speed” may be due in part to genes she inherited from her parents, who also participate heavily in “thrill” sports, especially snowmobile racing.

Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IRL event in April and raced last weekend at the Indy 500, where a collision prevented her from finishing the race with only 29 laps remaining.

After studying people who participate in high-risk sports and thrill-oriented behavior, neuroscientists and sports psychologists have established a link between the level of dopamine produced by the brains of these thrill-seekers and their behavior.

Specifically, these people often come from families made up of individuals who produce higher-than-average dopamine. Dopamine is a brain chemical that acts as a messenger involved in reward, motivation and mood.

Scientists and sports psychologists also note that repetitious practice of a behavior—a thrilling one or not—can lead the brain to establish it as “normal,” and can lead the person repeating the behavior to essentially go into “autopilot.” Coupled with high dopamine levels, this feeling of a risky behavior being routine and “normal” can lead to an increased sense of fearlessness in the people who continuously perform these activities.

Along with incredible skill, these factors combine to make Danica Patrick a speeding success on the racetrack. Even Danica thinks, though, that it all comes down to her genes.

“I think racing is in my blood, my DNA,” she said.

Recently, DNA testing has been in mainstream media quite often, and a hit TV show is no exception. Throughout its most recent season, the tangled plot of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters included a major knot involving a decades-old paternity question. Now, as the show prepares to launch its third season this fall, trailers make it clear that the Walker family’s paternity questions are far from answered, as the search for Mr. Walker’s alleged child continues and the family’s estate waits anxiously to see if it will encompass another heir.

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The following is a follow-up to our earlier article on the mystery of Anastasia, and the role DNA analysis is playing in solving it.
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According to a news article released last week, scientists have confirmed the remains of two bodies dug up in Russia last year that they previously believed were those of Tsar Nicholas II’s two children. DNA testing and analysis proved that these two bodies did in fact belong to the royal family that was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Since then, historians and scientists alike have been unsure of how many of his family members were killed along with Tsar Nicolas II. Specifically, scientists have had difficulty identifying the bodies of his five children, but the identities of three bodies near the Tsar and his wife Alexandra have proved particularly difficult to identify— those believed to be Maria, Alexei and Anastasia.

This identity question has led to an intriguing mystery throughout much of the twentieth century, with several women coming forward claiming to be the Tsar’s youngest daughter Anastasia. As each woman was ultimately determined not to be the long-lost Anastasia, scientists again turned to a shallow grave in Northern Russia for answers.

Last month, DNA analysis began on several sets of bones found charred in the grave. Now, it appears that two of the smaller bodies have been positively identified as Maria and Alexei. Through the process of elimination and added DNA analysis, researchers now believe a body found earlier in their investigation is that of Anastasia. However, scientists are divided in regard to this recent conclusion because of the corroded state of the DNA that was analyzed, and so investigations will continue in hopes of finding additional evidence to strengthen their conclusion.

Russia’s Orthodox Church has not released a position on the matter, saying that it will wait until scientists and historians can definitively agree on exactly whose bodies have turned up where.

While DNA testing has provided some answers in this mystery, other questions still remain. Most notably, researchers and world citizens alike are left to wonder if Anastasia died with her family or if she survived.