How Genes Shape Personality Traits

 Yale School of Medicine- How Genes Shape Personality Traits: New Links Are Discovered

A study by the Yale School of Medicine was conducted to connect how the loci of different genes influence an individual's personality, specifically the “big 5 personality traits”. An article, entitled “How Genes Shape Personality Traits: New Links Are Discovered”, covers one of the largest genetic studies of DNA and its influence on personality. Using genetic data from the Million Veteran Program and a total of 700,000 individuals, researchers worked to understand the connection between gene loci and their effect on the Big 5 personality traits. The big 5 personality traits include extraversion, openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. From this data, Dr. Levey's team was able to discover 62 new loci associated with neuroticism and discovered the first loci associated with agreeableness. Meta-analysis techniques enabled the team to connect over 200 loci with the five major personality traits. Working to apply these discoveries to a larger sample size, Dr. Levey is hopeful to identify a precise definition of variation in his findings. To apply these findings to a broader scale, the research team connected personality traits with mental health issues. While most of the connections made are well established, the team's research was still able to provide a genetic background to each correlation, offering a possible explanation for why some people suffer from different mental health diagnoses according to their personality. Looking towards the future, Levey's team is hopeful that understanding the genetics behind one's personality may give way to the prevention of certain mental health issues. They explain that just because personality is genetically determined, it doesn't mean an individual cannot change certain aspects of their personality. Another article, published in the National Library of Medicine, discusses personality traits and genetics but applies these ideas to family and the study of inheritance. These researchers gather that the application of genetic data to biology and psychology is not as straightforward as it may seem. However, they are hopeful that studying the genetic basis of personality will give more insight into the biology of personality disorders. 

Applying the study of genetics and inheritance to an individual's personality is not only important, but provides insight into potential mental disorders a person might encounter. The idea that a gene location may alter an individual's personality trait and ultimately life is fascinating. This study found major connections between different personality traits and mental health disorders, rendering these findings crucial for psychologists. With hopes for these findings to go deeper in the future, they must include a more diverse and wider group of people. With this larger sample population, different variations will be considered, altering conclusions and providing deeper insight into what was discovered in both studies. 

Pet Cloning Is Getting More Popular Despite the Cost

 

Texas-based company called Viagen Pets and Equine, which is the first and only US firm to offer commercial cloning of dogs and cats, is seeing a rapid increase in its practice since it first opened back in 2015. The cloning of pets is controversial, but it is growing in popularity despite its continuing high cost which averages around $50,000 to clone a dog, $30,000 for a cat, and $85,000 for a horse. While out of budget for most Americans, a select few among the wealthy have used genetic cloning to bring back some of their most beloved pets. “Back in 2018, Barbra Streisand disclosed that she had used Viagen to clone two puppies from her former pet Samantha. That same year, The Sun newspaper reported that music mogul and talent show judge Simon Cowell was "100 per cent cloning" his three Yorkshire terriers” (Dimitropoulos, 2022).

There are several specific cloning techniques, but the most common method involves transferring a cell nucleus from the animal you wish to clone which is then injected into a donor egg that has had its genetic material removed. The egg is then grown in lab into an embryo and then is implanted in the womb of a surrogate mother who goes on to give birth to the new animal. This process does not have to occur immediately after the death of a pet and can be conducted many years later.

Cloning brings with it many challenges. Health complications of both the surrogate and the cloned animal arise frequently and many see this as reason to ban the continuation of cloning as a whole. The issue of development and personality arise as well. Yes, your favorite pet may come back to you, but its memories and personality will not. As of right now cloning is limited to the DNA code of an animal and cannot replicate anything beyond that. Time will only tell how far and complex genetic coding will come to be.

A related article discussing this topic is attached here. 

Character Traits, Genetically or Environmentally Determined?

A recent  study of more than 800 sets of twins indicated genetics as  more dominant in shaping key personality traits, than environment. This topic has been debated on for decades, and while there is no doubt that both environment and genetics shapes our personalities, the degree to which they play a role was uncertain. The findings from the study indicated that " Identical twins (whose DNA is presumed to be exactly the same) were twice as likely to share traits compared to non-identical twins." The reasoning of the researchers is that  stronger  genetic link increases the likelihood that the trait is carried through out family. The specific character traits identified to be more influenced by genes are: self-control and decision making. Researcher Chi-Hua Chen from the University of California, San Diego and his team analyzed genetic data from about 140 000 samples and identified "Five personality traits: extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience"to be influenced by genes. 

I have always investigated siblings that I know, who are from the same parents and raised in the same environmental condition. It has always been very fascinating how similar they are, and at the same time how different they could be. The findings from this studies links genes to certain  personality traits .This knowledge could be used to investigate the root of certain physiological diseases, as well as it opens new questions for further studies such as examining people with the same personality traits controlled by genes, but in very different environmental settings.