ABOVE: MAOA gene located on "p" or short arm of the x chromosome
Research on genetic survey data done at the University of California and London School of Economics connected a gene to credit-debt. Having this MAOA gene at a "low" version meant that a person was more likely to have credit-card debt than a person with "high" version. People with the "low" version of MAOA had a 7.8% more chance of coming across credit card debt. Monoamine-oxidase-A or MAOA is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters including dopomine and serotonin (signal chemicals). The low reaction/stimulus time that this gene has on the individual has a higher chance to cause them to lose the impulse needed to pay bills on time.
However, this was not the first time the gene was studied before. The "low" version gene also indicates a higher chance of "lack of conscientiousness, impulsivity, and addictive behavior". About half the USA population has one or two alleles of the "low" version of this gene.
The research in this article that links a gene to credit card debt was at first a huge surprise to me because I thought such a imaginary concept such as credit and fiat money could never be connected to something so real as our human genome. Could this mean some financial institutions will find a loophole to sneak this information to judge their potential clients? As the law is now, they can not, and for good reason, but I can see the possible future of gene manipulation in children. I see that when parents can manipulate their offspring's genome, they can eliminate the MAOA gene from effecting their child's financial status and impulse/reaction time.
Original: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/born-into-debt/
Supporting: http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2009/11/genomarketing.html
Wow this article was really cool to learn about. In the near future it is true that we are going to be able to manipulate of variety of things and that the generations to come will benefit from this. Financial behavior is a huge factor in life to manipulate especially because bad financial behavior has such a great impact on one person or many lives. If this could possibly be controlled that would be outstanding
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