The result of his investigation is a melancholy and savory story of a kind of forgotten America where people face dead-end jobs and despair with six-packs of beer, the occasional joint and a kind of heedless self-justification.
Most important, however, is that although human genetics often faces dead ends because the function of the identified gene is unknown, animal models allow us to investigate the role played by the genes and to perform conclusive experiments to investigate disease mechanisms and develop more precise treatments.
Its portrait of a group of school leavers facing dead-end jobs, but dreaming of life as rock stars or footballers is both true to its times and eerily prophetic.
Supporters and sceptics alike have said that even if the referendum passed it would face a dead end in Congress, where Republicans would oppose statehood since it would add Democratic senators and a representative to Congress.
Clearly facing a dead end, I reached out for guidance to a friend who is a former Google employee.
And they may be facing a dead end this year in receiving money they had counted on -- $60 million in tax rebates from the state over 30 years.
Children from low-income families should not be facing a dead end if they are in a school that is below par.
Although hard to imagine, the reality is that many clinicians will soon face a therapeutic dead end in the treatment of certain types of severe bacterial infections.
"So often you're faced with dead ends or turnings that look promising but lead nowhere," says Orton, who has multiple sclerosis and receives PIP and employment support allowance.
Or - never a bad idea when faced with a dead end - you go back and, like the brothers Marsalis, consolidate the pre-free tradition.
But if you feel like you are continually facing the same dead end with a person, ask yourself if you are playing any part in letting them in in the first place.
