Happiness, aggression, anxiety, intelligence? Yeah, there’s a gene for that.
Thanks mostly to the 2005 Human Genome Project, 92 percent of the human genome is mapped and considered “pragmatically complete.” This means we can start to determine what those genes influence.
Genetics may show motivation, but we can’t leave accountability behind in its wake. In the ’70s, several defendants tried to use genetic research to negate their guilt, which was uniformly rejected by the courts.
The National Institute of Mental Health helped to identify the “aggression gene” and also linked that gene to impulsive violence and emotion regulation in 2006.
Also in 2006, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research uncovered evidence of a gene that appears to influence intelligence. They discovered that the dysbindin-1 gene is linked to general intelligence, as well as the prominence of schizophrenia.
Google the word “gene” or any characteristic, and you’re likely to come across a scientific article that explains which gene controls it.
Discover Magazine is the latest outlet for this gene debate. Michael Abrams, biology columnist, brings up the idea of a gay gene in its June 2007 issue. He speaks of a gene believed to be linked to homosexuality in men but also to fertility in women. He said, “the environment a child grows up in has nothing to do with what makes most gay men gay.”
But researcher Brian Mustanski, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said, “since sexual orientation is such a complex trait… it’s going to be a combination of various genes acting together as well as possibly interacting with environmental influences.”
They both show correlation, not causality. Our scientific community does not know enough about genetics to say that a specific gene can cause a specific behavior or characteristic.
This debate will continue. Some people are calling for further research and others calling for cessation. Some people are even looking to research to point to a “cure,” a gene we can turn off and on to control the traits of our kids.
Humanity is like Christopher Columbus when it comes to genetics – making new smaller discoveries and on the cusp of making something great but with great potential to make mistakes. We can’t yet reach a point where we use genetics to explain behavior. We can say that things are more likely to happen, but we can’t ignore personal responsibility.
———Contact Geoff Whiting at [email protected]