Has the smart gene been found? And is this good?
From the Discovery Channel news this morning, geneticists think they may have found the gene that determines cognitive ability (like intelligence, but not quite). Here is the intro from the article:
When considering your intelligence, it’s hard to say how much you should praise or blame your parents. But recently, a group of U.S. psychiatric scientists pinpointed a gene that may play a role in determining just how bright you are.
Experts from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Glen Oaks, N.Y., along with partners at the Harvard Center for Genetics and Genomics in Boston found that the gene known as dysbindin-1 – which plays a role in your susceptibility to schizophrenia – may also influence general cognitive abilities.
While this is good news for the process of understanding the human genetic code (or genome), this raises troubling questions. Like our channel editor discussed in her post, can genetics be used as an excuse? If you were tested for this gene and it was determined to be "damaged" could you be tracked into something for people with "lesser intelligence"? Speaking as someone with a learning disability, and who has worked extremely hard to manage it, I faced being tracked into classes that wouldn’t have me on the honours university track. It took my parents’ intervention at school to get me into honours classes.
This is the double-edged sword of learning the keys to our genetic makeup. The information isn’t bad or good, it’s how it’s used. Whether it is grouping and classifying people or denying them insurance (if you have markers for being susceptible to cancer), both of these applications have serious implications for us an society.
Tags: genetics, genetics ethics
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