Genetics of Human Height

Many people assume that height is brought down through genetics, although, that is not always true. Studies show that "about 60 to 80 percent of the difference in height between individuals is determined by genetic factors, whereas 20 to 40 percent can be attributed to environmental effects, mainly nutrition"(Lai 2006). Therefore, one main factor that goes into a person's ability to grow to max potential is the nutrition that is fed to the person to fuel the body. As Jef Akst, from The Scientist, states, "Hundreds of genetics variants have been linked to height, but none appear to have very strong effects"(Akst 2017).Over the years, researchers have been dedicated to finding a way to find all variants of height. One research project conducted in 2017 involved 700,000 volunteers, and discovered 83 new variants and 24 of those variants affected height by more than one centimeter(Akst 2017).

According to the press release, "The discovery of these variants means that researchers can now explain 27.4 percent of the heritability of human height"(Akst 2017). Going forward, and analyzing more genomes Joel Hirschhorn, a geneticist at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Broad Institute hopes to discover more variants. Hirschhorn spoke to The Verge, stating, "We have another study we just launched where we’re hoping to get up to 2 million people’s worth of data"(Akst 2017). Overall, there will probably never be an explanation to explain all of the genetic factors, but Hirschhorn thinks its important to use genetics to be able to understand biology to it's fullest extent.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-of-human-height/

https://www.the-scientist.com/the-nutshell/the-genetics-of-human-height-32075

Genetics In Court Is a Very Messy Business

     

        In today's court system, anything that can be shown as evidence to a particular case is looked at carefully. A few situations have come up where the person being accused tried using the "my genes made me do it" excuse; however, there really isn't much that genetics can prove regarding behavior. As science continues to advance, geneticists and medical ethicists believe people will start using genetic predispositions to get them out of guilty verdicts. Scientists and lawyers are expressing that the lack of understanding of genetics and behavior could result in people misusing science in the legal system.

        A big problem is that genetic predisposition (i.e: violence) is not the same as the diagnosis of a mental disorder.
“The ‘my genes made me do it’ argument is problematic because there is no evidence that genes make a person behave in a certain way that is beyond their capacity to control or recognize is wrong,” says Dr. Paul Appelbaum, the director of Columbia University’s Center for Research on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic and Behavioral Genetics.
Behavior can be associated with one's genetic makeup; however, no definite conclusions can be drawn solely based on genetic testings. If somebody has a genetic mutation for cancer, is it a give-in that he/she will get cancer?

        In the future, it may become easier for the court systems to get access to defendants' genetic information. If more and more people in society have their genomes sequenced, perhaps genetics can begin to play a role in an investigation. With that, much more information will be available to the courts and be useful if there is need to subpoena a case. Dr. Applebaum believes that in the coming years, this information might spur its introduction into court. He recommends that if it is to occur, courts should only allow genetic factors to enter an argument very, very slowly.

        In my opinion, genetics should not be a factor when looking at anyone's behavior. There is no basis to prove that a person's inappropriate behavior is even linked to inherited traits. If someone has a mental disorder due to genetic vulnerabilities, the diagnosis should be able to stand alone and his/her genetic background is irrelevant to the court case

http://time.com/2822174/genetics-in-court-is-a-very-messy-business/

http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2014060422000006.html