Do genes really affect IQ?

Not long ago, Nobel Prize winner James Watson, known as the "Father of DNA", made a statement that "genes cause different IQs between blacks and whites", which caused controversy. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where Watson worked, revoked all his honorary titles for this reason. The scientific community has also started a discussion about "genetic determinism of IQ".

The public account Biological Exploration published an article discussing this topic, listing various experiments, proving that there are indeed genes in the human body that affect intelligence, as well as many other human characteristics. However, even so, we cannot think that genes are equal to destiny.

Will genes cause differences in IQ between humans? The article cites a previous paper published in the scientific journal Nature in 2014. A team of scientists composed of researchers from Britain, France, Germany and other countries said that they have identified a specific gene for the first time. The mutation of this gene will affect the thickness of the cerebral cortex, which will in turn affect intelligence.

Another team of scientists from the Netherlands also announced in the journal Nature Genetics in 2017 that they had discovered 52 genes related to human intelligence, 40 of which were identified for the first time. These genes are even called "IQ genes" or "smart genes." This study proves that this new batch of "IQ genes" will affect human IQ test results and can play a 20% decisive role.

However, scientists also emphasize that there are thousands of genes related to intelligence. Even if you could map all of a person's smart genes, you still wouldn't be able to predict his IQ, let alone predict whether a person will be successful in life.

The article also said that in fact, all life phenomena such as the birth, growth, decline, disease, old age, and death of organisms are related to genes. In addition to measuring people's "smartness or stupidity", there are also some characteristics, such as whether a person is fat or thin, tall or short, whether he likes to exercise, whether he likes to stay up late, whether he likes spicy food or sweet food... all of these are related to genes. .

Genes cannot completely determine a person's characteristics, living habits, hobbies, etc., but they do affect many aspects of people.

First, aspects related to human body characteristics. For example, hair color and straightness, height, body proportions, facial features, etc. are all affected by genes.

Secondly, there are aspects related to lifestyle. For example, some specific genes can affect people's eating habits, exercise ability, sleeping habits and even the probability of dreaming.

Again, aspects related to emotions and mood. Studies have shown that citizens of countries that consider themselves happiest display a specific genetic profile, and their DNA may contain a specific gene involved in sensory pleasure and the reduction of painful emotions.

The article concluded that the development of technology has allowed us to understand more and more about our own genetic information and the functions of some specific genes. However, it needs to be emphasized that genes ≠ destiny. As in people at high genetic risk, a healthy lifestyle may cut the risk of heart disease in half. Therefore, with the advent of the era of genetic data, it is even more important to look at your own and other people’s genetic information rationally.

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