A study into the genetic basis of cognitive traits has found that about half of the genes that influence how well a child can read also play a role in their mathematics ability.
Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children's ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child's cognitive abilities at age twelve.
Importantly, our analyses show that a substantial proportion of the observed correlation in reading and mathematics abilities is due to genetics. If a large proportion of the genetic factors that affect these traits are pleiotropic, then the factors that lead to differences in an individual's abilities (or disabilities) are relatively more likely to be environmental. Understanding the aetiology of these patterns increases our chances of developing effective learning environments that will help individuals attain the highest level of literacy and numeracy, increasingly important skills in the modern world.
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In domesticated animals, regardless of species, certain traits eventually appear over and over again. White faces, white body spots, reduced facial skeleton, shorter snout, smaller jaws, smaller teeth, and, yes, Floppy Ears. One would almost think that humans selected animals for cuteness. In fact, people, even primitive prehistoric people, domesticated animals based on nothing more than selecting the least aggressive, or least fearful, and cross breeding those for generations. Those that bolt or bite either escaped, or got eaten, but weren't kept around for breeding.
So why do these traits appear so often in almost all domesticated animals, from horses to rabbits, and from dogs to hogs?
Scientists from Harvard, Vienna, Berlin, and South Africa have a new theory.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by c0lo on Thursday July 10 2014, @03:28AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 10 2014, @09:46AM
(Score: 1) by E_NOENT on Thursday July 10 2014, @01:30PM
FTFA:
"Both analyses show that similar collections of subtle DNA differences are important for reading and maths. However, it's also clear just how important our life experience is in making us better at one or the other. It's this complex interplay of nature and nurture as we grow up that shapes who we are."
Not exactly groundbreaking on the face of it...
I'm not in the business... I *am* the business.
(Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Thursday July 10 2014, @07:41PM
And not even exactly correct. There is a correlation between the genes that promote good reading and the genes that promote good math. I.e., the intersection of the sets is not null, and is actually pretty large. But neither is a subset of the other.
Yes, as they point out, environment is also important. Even so they aren't the same sets, and neither is a subset of the other.
So the headline is just wrong. The summary didn't inspire me to read the article, either, even though I'm somewhat interested in the area. Perhaps the article justified the headline, in which case the article was also wrong, but that's not the way I'd bet.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1) by E_NOENT on Thursday July 10 2014, @08:18PM
Well-said.
I'm guessing the research was probably interesting in and of itself, but there's no way you'd find out by TFA.
I'm not in the business... I *am* the business.
(Score: 2) by lhsi on Friday July 11 2014, @08:43AM
I'll copy over the title of the research article and the abstract:
Article title: The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component
Abstract: Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children's ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child's cognitive abilities at age twelve.
Full text available: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140708/ncomms5204/full/ncomms5204.html/ [nature.com]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday July 11 2014, @07:36PM
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140708/ncomms5204/full/ncomms5204.html/ [nature.com]
Page not found. Link appears to be broken.
Perhaps you need to be a subscriber?
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by lhsi on Saturday July 12 2014, @09:04AM
I'm not a subscriber, and the link has stopped working for me. It is the same link as the first link in the summary, or should be at least as the summary link opened correctly:
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140708/ncomms5204/full/ncomms5204.html [nature.com]
In my previous comment there is an extra / at the end of the link, maybe that's causing the problem.