Essay On Large Study Uncovers Genes Linked To Intelligence

Comfort (2012, para. 15), in a summary of his book, states that, “The perfect society composed of perfect individuals will be engineered in our biomedical laboratories.” Society believes that the ‘perfect’ individual is one who is intelligent, beautiful and successful. Genetic technology places too much focus on our genetic material, without considering the fact that environmental factors may be just as important. In her article on genes and learning, Annie Murphy Paul (2012, para. 4) cites the research of various scientists. Paul (2014, para. 4) states that:

Many scholars believe that "the new science of behavioral genetics has intellectual roots in the old ideas of Eugenics" (Steen 33). Eugenics disguised a political agenda as a scientific one in an attempt to endow discrimination with credibility. Supporters of genetic determinism theories do the same. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray defend the theory of genetic determinism in The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, which was published ten years ago. Their book is one of the most widely referenced works regarding the theory that intelligence is inherited. The authors claim that the social order mirrors natural selection, wherein the genetically superior or more intelligent human rises to the top. Of course this means that the lower class, predominantly blacks, are represented as genetically inferior (xxi-xxiii). The authors claim that "ethnic differences in cognitive ability are neither surprising nor in doubt" (269) and attribute the inequality of life among Americans to inherent differences between races in intelligence (127). Their argument rests on the assertion that intelligence is both inheritable and immutable and is supported by intelligence test scores. The text is full of contradictions and a close analysis proves it to be lacking in evidence and smacking of social myth. Their theories are developed using speculation and are tainted by bias. There is no science involved.

The biological approach in psychology states that behaviour is determined by a genetic component which results in a particular trait or behaviour. A topic area within psychology where this can be investigated is the heritability of IQ, it is suggested that genetic influence is the only factor to consider when investigating IQ, however others have suggested that other factors may play a role in determining IQ.

Intelligence in humans developed as the result of an increase in the number of brain genes in our evolutionary ancestors. Researchers suggest that a simple invertebrate animal living in the sea 500 million years ago experienced a 'genetic accident', which resulted in extra copies of these genes being made. This animal's descendants benefited from these extra genes, leading to behaviorally sophisticated vertebrates -- including humans, who continue to be prone to genetic accidents. There is a myth that concerns the fine line between brilliance and insanity. Dyslexia, autism, bipolar, synesthesia... the list of common problems suffered by the exceptionally intelligent is legion. While the ancient Greeks frequently communicated with their Gods, using them to externalize what they called “genius”, so they could tap into it, essentially relieving the burden of brilliance off the person. One main area of concern, especially in ancient cultures, is where religious experience and

The correlation between the genetic markers that would classify a race and the actual intelligence of an individual is documentedthought to be connected. The thought that many races hold is that alleles can hold the genetic marker that can be used to explain the diversity in intelligence, much like hair color, nose size, and height (Grigorenko 48).

Without diversity and variation among humans, the world would be quite monotonous. Although these disparities materialize on the exterior (e.g. hair color, eye color, widow’s peak, etc.) the authentic distinction lies deep within one’s genome. A genome consists of an organism’s DNA, thus providing the blueprint for growth and development (Moalem, 2014). Well-known physician, scientist, and author, Sharon Moalem expounded on the significance of genetics in one of his most prominent novels, Inheritance: How Genes Change Our Lives and Our Lives Change Our Genes. A myriad of biological concepts exist in this novel, all of which relate to genetics and the laws of inheritance. A few of these topics include: how genes are regulated/expressed, how a single change in DNA can alter the protein it codes for, and how ethics has an effect on genetics. These topics pertain to Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes (CollegeBoard, 2015).

‘Heritability’ refers to how far genetic differences are responsible for variations in traits, characteristics or abilities within a population. Heritability studies may involve twins or adopted children, where it might be possible to distinguish between genetics and environmental influence. These studies generally find that monozygotic twins are more intellectually akin than dizygotic twins; similarly children who have been adopted, remain intellectually comparable with their biological parents. This infers that there must be a genetic component responsible for differences in intelligence. However heritability estimates are inconclusive. (Deary 2001) claims that the heritability estimate tends to be placed between 40% and

In this article, researchers wanted to assess the effects of estrogen and progesterone treatment on visual and verbal cognitive function in postmenopausal women. In the abstract, researchers identified estrogen, progesterone, and synthetic progestin as the hormones in question. However, researchers did not identify the ultimate reason why these hormones were important to women who experienced menopause. In fact, the researchers did not define postmenopausal women, the symptoms they experience, or the need for hormone treatment. This presents a minor flaw; without detailing the importance of the study, it gives off the perception that the researchers were only researching a particular topic they were interested in, comparing studies

Our group project is on menopause and our goal is for menopausal women to be able to identify coping mechanisms and alternative therapies to help them with signs and symptoms they may experience. Menopause is a normal transition that all women will experience at some time in their lifespan. During the transition phase it can affect cognitive (verbal memory), affective (verbal learning), and psychomotor (fine motor skills) in the first year after their last menstrual period (Anderson, 2013). It is important to teach our menopausal women that the memory problems that they experience is not because of sleep disruption or depression; it is because of hormonal fluctuations they are experiencing during the changes of life (Emling, 2013). At times

POLYGENIC: With the new genetic study technologies of the twenty first century, researchers are able to conduct genome-wide analysis studies as well as single nucleotide polymorphism studies which can be used to determine which genes, if any, code for intelligence. A study by Benyamin et al. (2014) used single nucleotide polymorphism testing to compare the genomes of 17,989 children. The authors looked for genes in which children of similar intelligence shared many single nucleotide polymorphisms. However, the authors did not find any single nucleotide polymorphisms that reached a genome-wide significance value. Thus, the authors concluded that this result points to intelligence being the result of the aggregate effect of many genes within the genome and not just one specific “mother gene”. However, while

IQ is influenced by what takes place at the familial level because it can either nurture a person’s thirst for knowledge or become a barrier for them, if there is no one there to help or praise that persons efforts

Estrogen in the therapy has a lot of clinical benefits. Results from studies indicate that it reduces atherosclerosis and low-density cholesterol. It elevates high-density cholesterol and improves coronary vasodilation. Platelet aggregation prevented and reduced fracturing is also observed in HRT use. HRT was also reduced cardiovascular event and related mortalities. HRT also does not increase the risk to stroke, common in old age as supported by the Schierbeck study in 1993 and follow up for the next sixteen years4. In women where menstruation occurs prematurely, osteoporosis is prevented through HRT. HRT also improves mood as it is neuroprotective, it preserves cognitive functioning and reduces the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease4.

The idea that the human genome contains genes that collaborate with environmental and genetic influences. The book states that the activity of genes is affected by their environment, supporting

Mainly in women by oophorectomy or natural menopause, decrease in ovarian hormonal output have low concentration of estrogen and progesterone and experience a cognition decline. Estrogens have several established neural actions that are predicted to contribute its theorized protective role against cognition decline. These neuroprotective actions fall into three general categories: (1) improved cognition via regulation of various processes including spine density, long-term potentiation, and neurotransmitter systems, (2) protection against neuron cell death, and (3) inhibition of select aspects of AD neuropathology including Aβ accumulation and tau hyperphosphorylation. The ability of estrogens to reduce Aβ accumulation may be their most important neuroprotective action against cognition decline. As mentioned previously, Aβ formation from APP mediated by two pathways either amyloid genic or non-amyloid genic routes. If the production of low levels of soluble APP alpha by non-amyloid genic route and factors influence amyloid genic processing of APP or a reduction in the Aβ clearance pathways can lead to accumulation of Aβ, which in turn promotes assembly of the Aβ peptides into toxic oligomers and large insoluble fibrils that can affect brain neurons. This process can be prevented by estrogen and following menopause the decline in estrogen may then result in cognition decline due to the deposit of insoluble Aβ

Stephen Gould’s monograph, The Mismeasure of Man, examines and denounces the belief of biological determinism. In Chapter 5, titled “The Hereditarian Theory of IQ”, Gould addresses the idea that the average intelligence quotient (IQ) of an individual is strictly based on their hereditary. Gould condemns the belief of hereditarianism through reconstructing and finding inaccuracies in the experiments that leading scientists and researchers in the field, such as H. Goddard, L. Terman, and R. Yerkes, made while supporting the idea of biological determinism. Gould articulates how scientists, who allow their own personal prejudices and bias seep into their data, have inaccurately mismeasured man from the beginning of time. Scientists, who publish bias data in their work, even if not a supporter of hereditarianism and biological determinism, cause the general public to be misinformed about important social issues. Chapter 5 allows readers to understand why these inaccuracies happened and how the data from the experiments conducted impacted society as a whole.