Many of us like to think that if we work hard, we will succeed. But what if there is something over which we have no control that can influence the success we have?
Recent research suggests that our genes may influence how far we go to school and how much money we earn as adults.
Kathryn Paige Harden, a professor of psychology and behavioral geneticist at the University of Texas, says recognizing “genetic luck” could be used to help create a more equitable society.
However, his book on the subject, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, has sparked considerable debate, and some have even called it “dangerous.”
Professor Harden understands criticism. He says the history of the genetic sciences and the “atrocious eugenic views” that many of the camp’s ancestors have make it a difficult field to navigate.
“There has never been a time, since Darwin, when the discussion about genetics or evolution or inheritance in relation to humans has not been something that causes anxiety and controversy,” he says.
Francis Galton, who coined the term eugenics in the late 1800s, is part of the dark history of the genetic sciences. (Getty Images: Hulton Archive / Stringer)
However, he argues that it is time to “reclaim” the field and accept the idea that while they may not completely determine our fate, our genes do matter.
“Skeptic to work”
Until the start of the international scientific research project, the Human Genome Project (HGP), in 1990, there was little understanding of what humans were like at the molecular level. This meant that looking at our genetic similarities and differences was almost impossible.
By 2003, when HGP was completed, researchers had successfully mapped more than 90% of the human genome. And in March 2022, the final pieces of the human genome puzzle were launched.
Theoretically, there is now a set of instructions on how to build a human being.
“Every human being has 23 pairs of chromosomes in their cells, unless you have a condition such as [Down syndrome]in which you inherited an additional chromosome, ”says Professor Harden.
“All these chromosomes, your DNA, are made up of four letters of DNA: G, C, T and A.
“Humans are more than 99 percent genetically similar,” says Professor Harden, adding that “most of what human DNA does is make a human body.”
It is the remaining part, less than one percent, that differs between the people in which scientists like Professor Harden are interested.
He says most studies focus on DNA letter differences between people known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, which are the most common type of genetic variation found among people.
“You could have a T in a certain place, and you could have a C in a certain place,” he says.
“[There can be] million [these genetic variants] scattered throughout your genome “.
About two decades ago, scientists began looking at which SNPs were associated with specific results.
“[For instance] if the result we are interested in is height, we could tell which genetic variants (SNPs) are more common in tall people than in short people, ”says Professor Harden.
Knowledge about the human genome has expanded after nearly two decades of research. (AP / NHGRI)
Initially, these studies focused on things like high cholesterol, macular degeneration, or type 2 diabetes.
This research has helped to identify genetic variants associated with an increased susceptibility to developing these conditions later in life.
But since then, the focus of these studies has changed.
Researchers are now studying more socially focused outcomes, such as how far someone went to school, how much money they make, and whether they have ever been addicted to opiates.
“A lot of people were skeptical [this research] it would work, ”says Professor Harden.
However, studies show patterns of genetic correlations related to these psychological behavioral outcomes.
Nothing and personality
When it comes to how well children and teens do in school, Professor Harden says we already know that not all things are the same.
“We have a lot of research on this from educational and developmental psychology,” he says.
We know that poverty and disadvantages outside of school affect students ’educational outcomes.
But Professor Harden argues that cognitive ability is another part of the equation.
“If you have better working memory, better visual spatial reasoning [or] stronger vocabulary, school is easier for you, ”he says.
Non-cognitive factors are also involved. One of them is personality, which is of great interest to Professor Harden.
“There are personality traits that can make school easier or harder,” he says.
Things like impulsivity, how organized you are and how persistent. And those traits are, at least in part, shaped by our genes, he says.
Professor Harden says a 2022 study found thousands of genetic variants that were more or less common in people who had gone further in school. (Getty Images: Sydney Bourne)
The relationship between genetics and educational and economic success is complex. Professor Harden says people often try to simplify this by comparing it to a game of poker.
“There are the genes or the hand that deal with you, but there’s still how you play that hand,” he says.
But the effect of genes on things like personality means that this metaphor can be broken.
“Our genes are also influencing how we play the hand that touches us. It influences how we are motivated, how [much we plan]how much impulse control we have, ”he says.
“It draws that line between what effort and agency is and what it is [genetic] luck is impossible to separate “.
Diversifying genetics
Professor Harden says so far there is a lack of problematic diversity in research on this topic.
Professor Harden says we need to recognize the power of DNA to help create a fairer society. (Supplied)
“Right now, the vast majority of the information we have about the human genome comes from a narrow portion of the world’s population and those are people of northern European descent,” he says.
“The most common study is of people who identify as white British.”
He argues that this is not only “unfair,” but “harms science.”
“We’re neglecting a huge amount of diversity and genetic variety,” says Professor Harden.
She believes that expanding the diversity of genetics is a great opportunity for future work in the field. But in the meantime, we are left with studies that do not necessarily apply to everyone.
“People are hungry for new tools and solutions”
Because genes are immutable, Professor Harden says many people have wondered why recent studies matter so much.
He says this is because there is room to intervene and make a difference.
“Just because something is genetic doesn’t mean we can’t intervene in it environmentally.”
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A notable example is how family therapy is used to help treat alcohol abuse problems in teens.
“[Genetically speaking], not all teens are as likely to develop an alcohol abuse problem. Part of that genetics has to do with how your body metabolizes alcohol, but part of it has to do with personality, ”he says.
“Do you usually like rumored and rumored friends? Do you like to go to parties where substances are offered?”
Professor Harden says randomized controlled trials have shown that family therapy, which aims to improve relationships and communication between parents and teens, is an effective treatment and helps children who are “genetically more at risk.”
“That’s because one of the pathways between their genetic risk and their addiction goes through their social environment.”
The possibility of making a difference is raised as a question in Professor Harden’s book.
“How can public spaces, working conditions, access to health care and legal codes and social norms be reimagined so that the arbitrariness of nature does not crystallize into an inflexible caste system? ? ” she writes.
And some people are looking for the answers.
Professor Harden says that while there has been some “contraction” from fellow academics, there has also been a lot of interest from policymakers and government institutions.
“[They] they contacted me to say, “We want to know more about this.” I think a lot of people are hungry for new tools and new solutions. “
This conversation between Rob Brook and Kathryn Paige Harden was originally recorded as part of the UNSW Center for Ideas and aired on ABC RN’s Big Ideas.
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