More news from the “genetics explains everything” front

More news from the "genetics
explains everything" front: the way you vote is genetically determined.
James Fowler, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego,
and a graduate student, Christopher Dawer, have examined data from twin
registries and found that between 53% and 72% of the variation in voting
patterns can be traced to genetic influences. Their team also found that how
intensely someone identifies with a political party is determined by genetics.

Using data from the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, other researchers are trying to
correlate personality data, such as "desire for cooperation", with
DNA markers. A bit of a long shot, says David Goldman, a neurogeneticist at the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He says that "it’s
premature at best to attack a complex phenotype like political leanings at the
molecular level." ~  Science, July 25

Attributing political affiliations to
genetics and the brain has become popular in recent times. Last year,
scientists at New York University and UCLA reported
that political liberals are better able to handle "informational
complexity, ambiguity and novelty", while conservatives "show more
structured and persistent cognitive styles". Their research was based upon
how quickly students tapped a keyboard. Later on another group came to the same
conclusion after examining brain
scans.

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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