Category Archives: Genetics

Genetics of Personality

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Giorgio Bertini

In this article, the findings from behavioral genetic studies of personality are summarized, including twin and adoption studies estimating heritability as well as molecular genetic studies of candidate genes and genome-wide association studies. Studies of biological markers and other personality correlates are … Continue reading →

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Your Environment Could Be Changing Your IQ on a Genetic Level

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Giorgio Bertini

The nature-versus-nurture argument of intelligence just got a lot more complicated with the discovery that the environment can modify the expression of a key gene in the brain, affecting intelligence far more than we previously thought. Such a finding may … Continue reading →

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More Than Our Genes: The Interplay of Genetics and Personal Responsibility

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Giorgio Bertini

Fifteen percent of Americans still smoke. Seventy percent of Americans are obese or overweight. Many Americans engage in risky health behaviors that negatively affect their overall wellness. However, my grandparents were not among these. I can remember hiking in the … Continue reading →

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Genetic effects on Intelligence and Personality

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Giorgio Bertini

Pedigree-based analyses found that genetic differences account for 50–80% of the variation of observable (phenotypic) traits. Personality traits account for 34–48% of the variance being explained by genetic differences. Molecular genetic studies have also found that intelligence and personality variables … Continue reading →

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Genius in your Genes

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Giorgio Bertini

Will studying the genome sequences of very high IQ individuals help us understand the biological basis of intelligence? In 1980, Duke University founded the Talent Identification Program (TIP), a scheme for identifying academically gifted school-age children and nurturing their education … Continue reading →

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The Astonishing Creativity of Your Genes

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Giorgio Bertini

The code that makes cells is more complex than it once seemed. The millimeter-long roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has about 20,000 genes—and so do you. Of course, only the human in this comparison is capable of creating either a circulatory system … Continue reading →

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Genetics of Human Social Behavior

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Giorgio Bertini

Human beings are an incredibly social species and along with eusocial insects engage in the largest cooperative living groups in the planet’s history. Twin and family studies suggest that uniquely human characteristics such as empathy, altruism, sense of equity, love, … Continue reading →

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