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Genes and Behaviour
ADAM: Nature not nurture. MARTIN: So we’re saying we want an intelligent
In Making Astronauts, Adam and Martin decide that they want an intelligent child through genetic selection. "Every parent wants the best for their child," said
Rifkin. "In the future, the parent could become an architect
and each child the ultimate shopping experience. …In the next
10 or 20 years we could have eugenics with a smiling face. We will no
longer require the lower classes to have fewer babies; we will just
have them have better babies as we learn to do gene therapy." Our genes and our environment influence our behaviour. Genetic research is investigating how genes and the environment influence human behavioural traits, such as, intelligence, aggression, homosexuality, anxiety and anti-social behaviour. This field of genetic research is known as ‘behavioural genetics’. If it were possible to identify genes that influence particular behavioural traits it could then become possible to test for the presence of variations in these genes in individual people. However, at present, no such test currently exists and it is debated whether it ever could. Although it may be possible that genetic tests could suggest whether an individual will have an increased chance of possessing a particular trait to a greater or lesser degree. Different methods of research have been used in studying how genetics relates to human behaviour. The first method of research is through the use of observational studies; this form of research is referred to as ‘quantitative genetics’. It assesses and compares relatives, exemplified by twins or siblings, families and adopted children, comparing groups of people rather than concentrating on particular genes. Secondly, researchers use ‘molecular genetics’ which identifies differences in genes that contribute to trait variation in characteristics or traits between individuals. Finally, researchers use animals to explore the effects of particular genes on behaviour. The relationship between genes and behaviour is a more complicated issue than the connection between genes and diseases. How can our genes make us act in a certain way? Many ethical, social and legal implications are raised by this issue. Although there seems to be an agreement that genes do have an indirect effect on behaviour, even if environmental factors decide whether genes get expressed or not, there have been suggestions that any attempt to understand how genes affect behaviour will fail. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics disagree: We consider that it is neither a theoretical nor a practical impossibility to identify genes that contribute to behavioural traits and to understand some of the mechanisms by which they do so. |
