The Relationship Between Genetics and Sex Crimes

In the article, "Reality Check: Is sex crime genetic?", there have been claims that men are 5 times more likely to commit sex crimes if their brother or father have convicted sex offenses. The rumor all started on websites in U.K. newspapers, but it was concluded through a study in Sweden that genetics was related to this hypothesis by 40%. This study is very new that there are serious limitations that need to be considered. Although researchers predicted that sexual offending was connected to genetics some how, some specialists don't agree. This new study wasn't very easy to conduct. Researches working on this study found it very difficult to find sufficient data, so they broadened their study to a more diverse range of offenses in order "to maintain a large sample size". It was also very difficult to trust the conviction records due to the amount of sex crimes committed than reported. Studies continue to be made and there is not enough evidence provided to link genetics to sex crimes.
Without a large enough sample size, the study fails to provide evidence of the relationship between genetics and sex crimes. More studies need to be made in order to genetically explain these offenses, but it is clear that through multiple studies, we can conclude that some families are at higher risk for abuse and criminal behaviors. Most studies on sex crimes are related to traumatic early life experiences, for example abuse. I believe that these studies being coordinated can help evolve law enforcement by narrowing down the search for potential offenders and monitoring families that are at high-risk. I feel that although this study failed to provide enough evidence, I'm very interested where future studies take this subject and I look forward to reading the improvements made on the study. Despite the fact that there isn't a lot of evidence that points sex crimes to genetics, I think this article was very interesting because taking a step towards genetics can potentially be very helpful in resolving worldwide issues.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/04/reality-check-sex-crime-genetic
http://www.nber.org/digest/jan07/w12171.html
https://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2015/04/why-are-we-so-desperate-find-genetic-explanation-sex-offenders

Mutation and Methylation May Worsen the Effects of Child Abuse

It is common knowledge in the psychology field that while child abuse affects all survivors in a negative way, some survivors are affected much more severely than others. While some survivors can work through their past, others seem to be permanently affected by their experiences – people who have been abused as children are at higher risk for mental disorders and suicide. Previously, psychologists had a hard time predicting how much people will be affected by their past traumas.

However, according to Science Daily, researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Psychiatry may have found an epigenetic explanation as to why some people are permanently affected while some are not. Earlier this year, researchers have discovered that child abuse may cause permanent epigenetic changes in the way the body handles stress. The researchers from Max Plank built on the earlier research and discovered that people with a specific variation of the FKPB5 gene are at much greater risk to be permanently affected by traumatic experiences in their childhood than those without the gene. In particular, the trauma involved in child abuse causes a methyl group to be broken off and change the way the body responds to stress. Those who have the variant gene but have suffered only traumatic experiences in their adult years do not carry the same risk.

Research such as this is important because it stresses the importance of identifying and stopping child abuse. As a child abuse survivor, I’ve noticed that many people – including some teachers and other people who work closely with children – have a hard time understanding that child abuse greatly affects people of all backgrounds. You don’t know who has that variant gene by looking at someone, but you can treat all people with respect and speak out against abuse when you see it. I hope that this research will help others understand the severity of child abuse and take steps to end child abuse for once and for all.

Fruit Flies May Help Us Understand the Biological Effects of Child Abuse

 

Do the genes that you were born with determine your destiny? Or does what you experience in life shape the way you live it. Nowadays, researchers are very keen to prove that what you’re born with determines how your life would be. However, according to a Science Daily article, there is a possibility that what happens after your birth may change even your genetics.

Dr. Marla Sokolowski (University of Toronto), Dr. Tom Boyce (University of British Colombia), and Dr. Gene Robinson (University of Illinois) are co-editors of a special edition of a journal called Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. This edition contains papers from many different disciplines and focuses on how the early years of an organism’s life may affect the way the organism performs as an adult.

One interesting research project focused on how food depravation affects fruit fly behavior. In this experiment, scientists found two varieties of fruit flies – one with a genetic disposition to explore for food (“rovers”), and one with a genetic disposition to stay in one place (“sitters”). When fed a sufficient diet, both fruit flies acted and reproduced as expected. However, when the fruit flies were nutritionally deprived as larvae, both types of fruit flies searched for food like rovers. In addition, rover flies reproduced as normal, while sitter flies showed a reduction in reproductive ability.

This research shows that stressors in an organism’s early years may affect not only the behavior but also the genetics of humans. Research on humans
has showed that methylation in children who experienced abuse was different than methylation in children who did not experience abuse.

Research studies on animals and humans have large implications outside of the lab. It is appropriate that the editors of the journal sought research from a wide variety of disciplines. Studies on adversity during development could drastically change the way things work in fields such as social work, education, and counseling. Hopefully, further research could be used to help children who are currently being abused as well as adult survivors of child abuse.