Can Genetics Predict How Long Youll Live?

 A recent  article published on ‘El País’ suggests that genetics plays a much bigger role in how long we live than scientists previously thought. Researchers reanalyzed data from twins and families and found that about 55% of lifespan differences can be explained by genetics, once deaths from accidents or outside causes are removed from the data. In the past, studies estimated that genes only accounted for about 20–25% of lifespan differences, so this finding is a big change from what was believed before.

The researchers explained that earlier studies did not separate biological aging from other causes of death, which made genetics seem less important than it really is. By focusing only on aging-related deaths, they were able to get a clearer picture of how much DNA affects lifespan. Even though genetics appears to have a strong influence, the study also shows that environment and lifestyle still matter a lot. Things like diet, exercise, stress, healthcare access, and living conditions still play a major role in how long and how well people live.

Overall, this research helps scientists better understand aging and could lead to new discoveries about genes linked to long life. It also reminds us that while we can’t change our genes, we can still make choices that improve our chances of living a healthier and longer life.

Sources: 

Nuño Domínguez. (2026, January 30). More than half of your lifespan is shaped by genetics. EL PAÍS English. https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2026-01-30/more-than-half-of-your-lifespan-is-shaped-by-genetics.html

Joseph, A. (2026, January 29). Genes influence human lifespan far more than thought, new study suggests. STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/human-longevity-inherited-new-study-published-in-science/

Debunking Eugenics: What Genetics Actually Tells Us

    Eugenics has long tried to present itself as science, using genetic language to justify harmful ideas about human value and “fitness.” Historically, eugenic movements claimed that complex traits like intelligence, behavior, and morality were controlled by single genes and could be selectively bred to “improve” society. These claims led to forced sterilizations, discriminatory laws, and genocide. Modern genetics has since shown that these ideas were not grounded in evidence but in social prejudice, with early eugenicists misusing limited biological knowledge to legitimize inequality

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    Contemporary genetic research directly contradicts the core assumptions of eugenics. Most human traits are polygenic, meaning they are influenced by many genes, and are heavily shaped by environmental factors such as nutrition, education, and access to healthcare. The Human Genome Project demonstrated that humans are overwhelmingly genetically similar, with variation occurring gradually across populations rather than in discrete biological groups. There is no scientific basis for ranking individuals or populations by genetic “quality,” nor is there a single gene that determines intelligence, behavior, or worth.

    The persistence of eugenic thinking today reflects not scientific debate but the continued misuse of genetic information. When genetics is stripped of context, it can be twisted into arguments about superiority or exclusion, despite clear evidence to the contrary. In reality, the goal of genetics is understanding and improving health, not categorizing people by value. Science has decisively rejected eugenics by revealing human biology to be complex, interconnected, and incompatible with simplistic hierarchies. forgot to publish this, had it opened for a few days...

References

National Human Genome Research Institute. (n.d.). Eugenics and scientific racism. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Eugenics-and-Scientific-Racism

Tishkoff, S. A., & Kidd, K. K. (2004). Implications of biogeography of human populations for “race” and medicine. Nature Genetics, 36(11.Suppl), S21–S27. https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1438

Understanding the Vampire Squid

Zaneyah Hughes

Genetics

Dr. Barbato

15 Dec, 2025

Understanding the Vampire Squid

This article says the genome of the vampire was finally sequenced, and how that explains the evolution of cephalods. The vampire squid shows us a common ancestor between squids and octopus and has less recombinations than octopuses. In other words, this allows us to see earlier cephalopod evolution. This research, led by the University of Vienna, Austria also stresses how deep sea species have the ability to preserve ancestral traits.

 I think that this article is really cool beause them sequencing the vampire squid changed our understanding of the cephalod’s evolution. Being able to see that it has a lot less recombinations that the octopus allows scientists to draw a much more distinct line between squids and octopuses for modern day reasons and evolutionary purposes. Additionally, the fact that we wouldn’t have known any of this information since vampire squids are very hard to study makes this even more fascinating, and it makes me wonder how much more information there is that we don’t know simply because we can’t use “ideal model organisms” or is inaccessible for research purposes.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/animals/mollusks/scientists-finally-sequence-the-vampire-squids-huge-genome-revealing-secrets-of-the-living-fossil

Extra sources: https://www.sci.news/genetics/vampire-squid-genome-14383.html

Polar Bears Have the answer to Climate Change

Zaneyah Hughes

Genetics 

Dr. Barbato 

15 Dec 2025

Polar Bears Have the Answer To Climate Change

This article says that polar bears in a region of Greenland are showing DNA changes connected to rising temperatures, thanks to research from the University of East Anglia. This is significant since this marks the first connection between climate change and genetic change in wild mammals. Additionally, scientists discovered that gene activity related to things like metabolism, ageing, and heat stress increased in bears from warmer regions. This suggests that the polar bears are adapting to warmer regions, and thus adapting to climate change.

I like how the article shows that the way the scientists know this adaptation is occurring is through jumping genes, or segments of DNA that can move or jump to different locations within a genome. Additionally, I think its really cool how the polar bears are starting to rewrite their DNA as a survival mechanism since reducing the burning of fossil fuels doesn’t seem to be happening as urgently as wildlife needs it. Although this is a great adaption and its wonderful that the polar bears are able to developing a survival mechanism, we should still discourage the use of green emissions to try to save their habitat.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/12/changes-to-polar-bear-dna-could-help-them-adapt-to-global-heating-study-finds

Extra Source: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/polar-bears-rewiring-genetics-survive-warming-climate/6429583/

The Genomic Link to Developing a Stutter

     Developmental stuttering is a common speech disorder that affects over 400 million people worldwide and is recognized by syllable repetitions, sound elongations, and speech blocks. Although many children recover, a fraction continue to stutter into adulthood. A groundbreaking study led by Dr. Hannah Polikowsky at Vanderbilt Genetics Institute connects the dots of the heritability of stuttering.

    Polikowsky's study contained large-scale genome association analyses on over one million subjects. By using ancestry stratification and metal-analytic approaches, the researchers were able to identify 57 unique loci associated with stuttering risk. These findings validate the role genetics has in developing a stutter and reveals the overlap it has with neuro-developmental and neuropsychiatric traits such as autism and ADHD.

Figure 1: Family with Persistent Developmental Stuttering Gene Variant stutteringhelp.org

    This study also highlights sex-specific effects, being that the persistence of stuttering is majorly higher in males. Researchers were able to identify loci with different effect sizes by analyzing sex-stratified GWAS. Furthermore, the researchers uncovered enrichment for genes that play a role in axon guidance, neurotransmitter signaling, and cortical brain regions associated with speech and motor control. 

    This study represents a major step forward in furthering the understanding of the biology of stuttering. This study reveals the polygenic nature of stuttering and how it links to other neuro-developmental processes. 

Sources:

    Polikowsky et a.l (2025). Genome-wide association analyses of developmental stuttering in over one million individuals. Nature Genetics, 57(12), 1785–1797. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02267-2

    Hildebrand, M., & Morgan, A. (2024, Spring). Unlocking the genetics of stuttering. Stuttering Foundation. https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/unlocking-genetics-stuttering

Psychiatric Disorders Are Genetically Connected

     Previously, psychiatric disorders have been defined by their symptoms over their genetics, yet the overlap of diagnosed individuals is no coincidence. Disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and substance addiction often affect individuals of the same lineage. A study conducted by Andrew D. Grotzinger of the University of Colorado analyzes genetic data from over one million people to focus on these specific neurological disorders and to determine how distinct they are at a genetic level. 

    The researchers at University of Colorado found that many psychiatric conditions share substantial genetic risk. Most of the neurological disorders focused on did not have their own unique genetic signature as expected. Instead, the risk clusters into five major gene factors that span multiple disorders. For example, the article states "The two factors defined by (1) Schizophrenia and bipolar disorders (SB factor); and (2) major depression, PTSD and anxiety (Internalizing factor) showed high levels of polygenic overlap6 and local genetic correlation and very few disorder-specific loci". This means that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share a genetic dimension related to psychosis whereas depression and anxiety cluster on a "mood related" genetic axis. Some dimensions capture shared risk for neurological and substance- abuse disorders. 

    Functionally, the shared genetic factors were related to specific biological annotations, including differential enrichment in brain regions, developmental time points, and cell type specific expression profiles. These findings using Genomic SEM suggest that psychiatric comorbidity shows convergence on partially shared pathways. 

    This article is an extreme step in furthering understanding of 14 different neurological disorders. Although the analysis is limited by ancestry, being that only European patients were used, it still provides significant framework for integrating genetics into psychiatric classifications.  

Sources: 

    Grotzinger, A. D., de la Fuente, J., Li, Z., Hansell, N. K., Stahl, E. A., Walters, R. K., Wray, N. R., et al. (2025). Genetic architecture of 14 psychiatric disorders at multiple levels of analysis. Nature, 621(7976), 134–142. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09820-3

    Grotzinger, A., van der Zee, M., Rhemtulla, M., Ip, H., Nivard, M., & Tucker‑Drob, E. (2025). GenomicSEM: Structural equation modeling based on GWAS summary statistics https://github.com/GenomicSEM/GenomicSEM

Polar bears are rewiring their own genetics to survive a warming climate

         Reading the title of this article confused me at first but after going through it I am more invested in polar bears than I was when I was 10. With warming climates worldwide, polar bears are being forced to adapt, and this is showing in their DNA. This is believed to be the first documented case of environmental change driving genetic change (note for my answer on the final). 

 

        Researchers say that this is because warming sea temperatures reduce the amount of ice flows that polar bears can hunt off of, causing their need to diversify. 

        Even though polar bears are adapting to the world around them, they are still projected to go extinct within the next century. This is truly upsetting to me as polar bears are some of my favorite animals in the world. I will be doing my part and donating to  conservation funds and hoping that it is not too late. 

Dawson Fournier

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/greenland/polar-bears-adapting-survive-warming-climate-rcna248805

Secondary: https://abcnews.go.com/International/polar-bears-rewriting-dna-survive-warming-arctic-study/story?id=128278604 

Misophonia Has Genetic Links to Anxiety And Depression, Study Reveals

             A recent study has shown that misophonia, a condition that makes sounds like chewing, grinding and snoring overly agitating and anxiety inducing, can be linked to inherited depression and anxiety. 

 

        Researchers in the Netherlands have found that genetic mood conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD susceptibility were all linked to having misophonia as well as chronic tinnitus. As someone who suffers from both misophonia and tinnitus this article was very concerning. However, I do not feel like I have any of the other conditions so that is good. 

        It makes sense though, that these things would be linked. The feeling that you get when you hear someone slurp a hot drink is similar to the feeling of dread you get in your stomach when you read the bill from your dentist. 

        Overall I found this article very fascinating and relatable but also it reminded me I need to be aware of the way I feel and how I react to the situations I am in.

 

Dawson Fournier

Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/misophonia-has-genetic-links-to-anxiety-and-depression-study-reveals

Secondary: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24460-misophonia