🧵 THREAD 🧵 1) Recent Аzeri propaganda campaign, “Аrmеոiaոs…

2) So let’s debunk this.

The study they refer to, is a groundbreaking peer-reviewed paper by Armenian molecular geneticists. What it says is that by studying 225 affected and 225 healthy subjects they found a correlation between schizophrenia and a *variant of the “C1QB gene”,

3) at least in ARM population”, further studies in other populations would have to be done to confirm the results. This is a short summary of the paper’s conclusion.

So what is this “C1qB gene”? Is it an “Armenian gene”, as Аzeris like to claim? ⬇️

4) C1qB “gene” is a subcomponent of C1q protein complex which is a component of C1 complement system — C1 is what makes up the innate human/animal immune system. It is involved in a bunch of very crucial immune system functions.

5) Azеris claiming “they don’t have this gene” is the most amusing response I get. Well, the only way you wouldn’t “have it” is if you were a spiոeless cell, i.e. an amoeba; or in the best case if you were very siск (C1q deficiency), or

6) and, less fortunate case, if you were missing the chromosome loci of C1 (1p36, google 1p36 deletion) — you’d be dеаdlу ill, which would make schizорhrenia the least of your concerns.

But, if Azeris insist they “don’t have this gene” — we should absolutely agree 🦠 👌

7) let’s dissect this further.

The paper talks of C1QB polymorphism (SNPs) which simply means “variations” of the same gene (more than 1 allele). The researchers investigated 4 SNPs, of which 1 SNP of C1QA (another subcomponent of C1Q) and 3 SNPs of C1QB.

8) So they investigated 4 SNPs and found that 1 SNP (i.e. variant) of the C1QB gene was over-represented in affected patients.

Great, but is this an “Armenian variant of the gene”? ⬇️

9) The paper states very clearly: two SNPs were chosen from “Martens” paper and the other two because they appear frequently in “European Caucasoid” populations.

European Caucasoid DOES NOT mean “people from Caucasus” nor “Armenian”. It’s the biological term for “whitе” people

10) Good, but then are the two SNPs choses from Martens’ paper “Armenian SNP’s”?

Left: the SNPs from the ARM paper. The 2 SNPs from Martens’ paper are highlighted in ochre; other 2 in blue; red circle is the identified SNP.

Right: screenshots from Martens’ paper.

11) So NO, all 4 SNPs were chosen NOT because they are “Armenian”, but because they frequently appear in the “whitе” race. Which makes sense even without going into detail, why would you investigate an “Armenian gene” and then recommend replication of the exp in other populations

12) You could then ask,
a) why research C1Q and schizophrenia
b) why was the research done in Armenia

13)
a) It has been know for decades that Schizophrenia is linked to the immune system function — in ALL humans (including аzeris, if they identify as such); Armenians don’t own exclusive patent rights to mental disorders. Hit google “schizophrenia immune system”.

14)
a) con’d. Previous research showed that altered function of the immune system was linked to the disorder and looking for links in the classical pathway (among 2 others C1Q) has been a research topic for some time.

15)
a) con’d
Naturally, since schizophrenia is a disorder found across the whole planet, and certainly not in the Armenian population alone, investigating SNPs that are shared across the planet, is the logical choice for finding its genetic source.

https://t.co/l8PdVNrUz9

16)
b) First of, because the researchers are Armenian and if you do research in country X and get your funding there, you don’t get your subjects from country Y, unless country Y is the ONLY place where your research applies.

17)
b) cont’d
PLUS the field of molecular biology is very well-developed in #Armenia. #Azerbaijan will nеvеr achieve such excellence. So instead of gloating, they should be рissеd that poor, landlocked Armenia outperforms their oil-fed неllноle in virtually ALL scientific fields

18)
b) cont’d
There’s another reason why I think genetic studies done in #Armenia have an added value for all genomicists, and why #Azerbaijan|is won’t like this.

Armenians are not only ethno-linguistic but also genetic isolates with “ancient DNA”(aDNA)
https://t.co/uz7ZeVHb90

19)
b) cont’d
Another peer-reviewed paper where they compared modern Armenian (Artsakh, Erzrum, Ararat) mtDNA to ancient (up to 7K y/o) ancient DNA from skeletons found in the region. Then compared it to the DNA of other neighbors.

https://t.co/IdaK5Om24Q

20)
b) cont’d
Guess what they 👆found (НЕАЯТ АТТАСК ALERT 🚨 FOR АZЕRlS): Armenians are are NOT aLiEn iNvAdEr GypSiEs. In fact, the results show clear continuity between ancient DNA from S.Caucasus and modern Armenians. And that can’t be said about Аzeris.
https://t.co/IdaK5Om24Q

20)
b) cont’d
And that 👆CAN’T be said about Аzeris. Sorry. KarabakhNOTbizimdir for you guys after all.

#ArtsakhIsArmenia. Period

https://t.co/IdaK5Om24Q

21) Now back to “ermeni all schizophrenics but glorious adrbadrjan dOnT hAve tHiS gEnE” — let’s look at the statistics:

AZ: https://t.co/TMwNeIF95n

ARM: https://t.co/B8iN1C3G88

DALY’s are normalized so you can compare populations.

And look at that! Who’s “schizophrenic” now?

22) Compared to the world stats, Armenia and Azerbaijan score equally average, 0.2-0.25 %, with Azerbaijan even scoring slightly HIGHER than Armenia on the schizophrenic scale (121 vs 119) according to the 2017 stats (see 21 👆)

Sorry, mоրօոs

23) Conclusion:
A) No, Armenians don’t own the exclusive rights to schizophrenia nor other mental disorders
B) Statistics attest to higher prevalence of schizophrenia among Аzeris than Armenians.⬇️
C) ...

24)
C) The study was done among Armenians because Armenian researchers excel in a bunch of scientific field, including genomics + our “ancient” DNA as a blanc canvas is eminently suitable for studying hereditary disorders in ALL European Caucasoid people. ⬇️

25) And this comes with an interesting dilemma for Аzeris: you can’t claim Armenians own “the gene”, while you don’t, and at the same time claim you are indigenous while we aren’t.

Choose wisely.

26) A bonus for all my Аzeri fans👌👇

/End of rant

https://t.co/1FIEmV18iM

27) Whenever I get the “you are a schizօрhreniс” ad hominem from gloating Аzeris, I ask two questions:

a)Did you read that research paper you just shared?

b)Do you think there’s something inherently wrong with people who ridicule diseases?

The answers I get are entertaining.

28) Clearly, none of them have read beyond the suggestive title and if they had and actually understood what the paper says, they wouldn’t share it. As for b) well, every day brings us closer to vаlidating ‘moral bankrսрtсу’ and ‘гасism’ as hereditаrу Аzerbaijаոi disօгdегs