What is inherited from parents? Secrets of genetics: from whom the intellect is transmitted to the child Mental abilities are transmitted through the maternal line.

Health 24.04.2021

Genetics is one of the most mysterious and interesting sciences. Of course, the child inherits the genes of both parents, but he will take some dominant traits from his father - both good and not very good.

Here are the genetic traits that children inherit from their fathers:

1. Heart disease.

According to research conducted by scientists at the University of Leicester, men who carry a certain type of chromosome are almost 50% more likely to develop diseases that affect the coronary artery (a condition characterized by a decrease in oxygen delivery to the heart). And this feature can be passed on to sons.

2. Mental disorders.

Among the mental disorders that are passed from men to children are schizophrenia and ADHD. As the father ages, the risk increases as a man's DNA mutates over the years.

As for women, they are born with a certain set of eggs, and their DNA does not change throughout their lives.

"Fathers are four times more likely to have new mutations in their DNA because they continue to produce new sperm as they age."

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3. Crooked teeth.

Male genes for teeth and jaw shape are stronger than female ones. From the father, the child can receive not only crooked teeth, but also thin enamel.

4. Problems with childbearing.

Scientists say that poor sperm quality may be a genetic problem. If a child was born as a result of IVF, then, most likely, he will also suffer from infertility.

5. Gender of the child.

Prediction can be made by looking at genealogical tree father. If the sperm carries the X chromosome, then when combined with the mother's X chromosome, there will be a girl.

And if the sperm has a Y-chromosome - a boy. The researchers speculate that the as yet undiscovered gene is responsible for determining how the X and Y chromosomes are distributed throughout the father's sperm.

6. The color of the child's eyes.

Because male genes are dominant over female genes, facial features and eye color are more likely to be the same as the father's.

7. Child growth.

Growth largely depends on paternal genes. Tall fathers produce tall children.

What about intellect?

1. Intelligence is not transmitted from father to son. That is, if the father is a genius, then his son 100% will not inherit these genes.

2. Idiocy from father to son is not transmitted. If the father is a complete idiot, then his son will not be. (here nature acted wisely).

3. Intelligence from the father is genetically transmitted only to the daughter. And that is half.

4. A man can inherit intelligence only from his mother, which she, in turn, inherited from her father.

5. The daughters of geniuses will be exactly half as smart as their fathers, but their sons will be geniuses. If their father is dumb, then daughters are half as dumb as their fathers.

6. Therefore, there are very few women of genius, as well as 100% idiots. But there are a lot of male geniuses and stupid males.

Conclusions for men:

1. To predict your son's intelligence, look at your wife's father (if he is an academic, then your son will be smart too).

2. Your daughter will get half your mind. But also half of your stupidity. In terms of intelligence, she will be closer to you. Her son will get all your mental powers. If you want a smart generation, dream of a grandson from your daughter.

3. Your mental abilities are from your mother, or rather from your grandfather.

Conclusions for women:

1. Your son is mentally a copy of your father, and scolding him “you are as dumb as your father” is not entirely true. You have to say, "you're as dumb as your grandfather" 🙂

2. Your daughter will be like you in upbringing, but in mind like her father. Her sons will be copies of your husband. That's what genetics is like! And who do you look like?

Ecological parenting. Children: The results of scientific research suggest that the level of intelligence of a person is mainly determined by maternal, not paternal genes. This means that in order to give birth to a smart child, there is absolutely no need to “hunt” for Nobel laureates.

The results of scientific research suggest that the level of human intelligence is mainly determined by maternal, not paternal genes. This means that in order to give birth to a smart child, there is absolutely no need to “hunt” for Nobel laureates.

Mothers are more likely to pass on the genes responsible for mental abilities, since these genes are linked to the X chromosome, which in women is represented in two copies, while in men - in one, writes The Independent.

Moreover, as the researchers suggest, based on the latest scientific data, the “intelligent” genes received from the father can be automatically deactivated in the offspring.

The fact is that the genes responsible for intelligence are included in the category of genes controlled by sex, which behave differently depending on their origin. Some are active only if they are inherited from the father, and some only if they are inherited from the mother.

"Intellectual" genes just belong to the last variety.

As shown by studies conducted on genetically modified laboratory mice, individuals with an excessive dose of maternal genes grow large brains, and the body develops poorly. Conversely, in mice with an excess of paternal genes, the body grows large, but the brain remains small.

By studying the distribution of cells containing only maternal and only paternal genes in the brains of mice, scientists found that cells with paternal genes predominate in the ancient limbic system of the brain and are responsible for such basic things as sex, food and aggression. At the same time, not a single "father" cell was found in the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for the most advanced cognitive functions - thinking, speech, memory, and planning one's actions.

The fact that these data are also true for humans was confirmed by researchers from the University of Glasgow (UK). Every year since 1994, they have tested the mental abilities of nearly 13,000 young people aged 14 to 22. The analysis showed that even taking into account many factors, from the level of education to the socio-economic status of the participants in the study, the most accurate way to predict their intellectual level is by the IQ level of their mothers.

At the same time, science says that mental abilities are determined by heredity only by 40-60%. Everything else is connected with the external conditions in which a person grows and develops, but this part of the contribution to the intelligence of the child depends to a large extent on the mother.

As researchers from the University of Washington (USA) found out, it is the close emotional connection between mother and child that is the key factor for the normal development of certain areas of his brain. Scientists analyzed how a group of mothers communicate with their children for seven years after their birth.

It turned out that in children who received good emotional and intellectual support from their mothers at the age of 13, the size of the hippocampus - an area of the brain associated with memory, learning and stress response - was 10% larger than in those children who were kept by their mothers. on distance.

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A strong bond with the mother provides the child with a sense of security and freedom to explore the world scientists say. Loyal, attentive mothers help the child overcome all difficulties and realize their potential. At the same time, dads also do not need to despair - they pass on to their children, both with the help of genes and participating in their upbringing, many other important qualities that help develop not only the intellect, but also the personality as a whole. published

Incredible Facts

Parents love to pretend What will their future child look like?.

Will he inherit his mother's eyes or his father's nose? Are there certain traits we get from each parent?

Genetics is an interesting and very complex thing. A child receives 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 from the father, and there are many options for how they will be combined and what the end result will be.

Although the genetic influence is generally equal on the part of both parents, many scientists conclude that father is sometimes more influential than mother.

Dark eye colors such as brown and black are dominant, while light color an eye, such as blue, is recessive.

Usually the child inherits the dominant eye color of the parents. For example, if dad has brown eyes and mom has blue eyes, then the child is likely to be brown-eyed.

But this is not always the case. If the father has a recessive eye color, such as blue or green, the child is more likely to inherit the father's eye color.

What could be cuter than dimples, and if your father had dimples, chances are high that the child will be born with the same cute dimples.

Cheek dimples are a dominant feature, and their appearance is associated with the location of the muscles on the face.

Each person has their own unique fingerprints, and they are not repeated in parents and children. However, there is a genetic predisposition towards fingerprints.

The prints of fathers and children, though never the same, are very similar. Look at the hands of a child and you will see similar curls or arches in the father.

©CloserToInfinity/Getty Images

Genetics play a big role in what facial features or the ratio of these traits your children will have.

Children tend to inherit the facial symmetry of the father and if, looking at your son or daughter, you clearly see his father, then there is a reason for this.

The growth of the child is influenced by the genes of both parents, however father plays a big role in how tall or short a child will be. If the father is tall, then the children will also be tall, maybe not as tall as the father, if the mother is short, but nonetheless.

Weight is largely determined by genetics, and there is a relationship between the weight of the parents, especially the father, and the weight of the children when they grow up.

It's interesting that father's weight may affect birth weight of baby. So, if the father's genes are expressed during pregnancy and intrauterine development of the child, then the mother's genes can be suppressed to some extent.

As with the eyes, dominant and recessive genes big influence on hair color.

Dark hair is dominant and if your father dark hair, then yours, too, is likely to be dark.

Moreover, the father's genes play a decisive role in what will be the texture of the baby's hair. If the father has curly hair, then it is unlikely that the child will have straight hair.

As for the shape and size of the lips, the father's genes can significantly affect this trait. Full lips are a dominant feature, and if the father has full lips, then the child is also likely to have full lips.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the structure of the teeth, as well as the problems associated with them, is a hereditary trait. If the father had bad teeth, then the child will probably have to face problems too.

Did you know that there is gene responsible for gaps between teeth? If your father had a gap between his teeth, don't be surprised if you inherit one.

If a father likes to take risks, then this can leave an imprint on the personality of future children. It is believed that a person's personality is to some extent predetermined from birth.

So, for example, there is a gene responsible for the search for novelty and inclining a person to risky behavior. A person who is adventurous most likely inherited this feature from his father.

Although there is no specific gene responsible for sense of humor, there is a set of genes that determine the tendency to wit.

Of course, a sense of humor is a social trait, and if parents like to play pranks on each other and laugh, then the child will also be funny.

The potential of the child's intelligence is also determined to a greater extent by genetics, namely the intelligence of the father.

10:30 14.09.2016

It is generally accepted that both parents are equally involved in laying the genetic foundation for a new life. In fact this is not true. There are areas in which the genes of one of the parents are completely or almost completely switched off from the process.

All mothers and fathers want their children to grow up smart and intelligent. If only because such people more often achieve success in life and live longer. But as it turned out in the course of recent research, the sharp mind gene - or the intelligence gene responsible for the mental development of the child (for his IQ level) - is transmitted only along one line - maternal.

These findings were recently published in the popular trade journal Psychology Spot. They were made on the basis of research conducted independently by scientists at the University of Manchester, the University of Ulm in Germany and the University of Glasgow.

The latter conducted a large-scale study, which involved more than 12 thousand young people and adolescents aged 14 to 24 years. Scientists were interested in questions of heredity and genetic diseases. In parallel, the participants took an IQ test.

It turned out that it is possible to make a prediction about the intellectual abilities of a child on the basis of maternal indicators alone. The difference between the IQ level of the child and the mother averaged no more than 15 points.

At the same time, no obvious relationship between the level of intelligence of the father and the child was found.

Scientists explain this fact simply. According to them, the so-called the "intelligence gene" is located on the X chromosome. Women have a double set of X chromosomes, while in men she is next to a partner named Y. Somehow, this Y is doing everything possible to deactivate the father's intelligence genes by connecting with the same genes from the mother.

"This is an interesting phenomenon," the Scottish scientists said in the report. - We are accustomed to believe that the genes of the father and mother are equally involved in the creation of a new life. But it turns out that there are areas in which maternal genes dominate. Just like there are areas where male genes play the first fiddle.”

What important conclusion can be drawn from this? If you want to give birth to a smart child, you do not need to look for the role of a father Nobel laureate - there is no use in it!

Photos in the text - DepositPhotos.

People have been dealing with the topic of intelligence for a long time. The mind is a complex set of features that largely determine the individuality of each person. Intelligent people often hear that their abilities are a gift from God. On the other hand, less fortunate individuals claim that they have not had the opportunity to develop their minds. How are things really? How true is the theory of heredity of intelligence?

Role of genes

It has been proven that people have 15 million paired nucleic bases of DNA that distinguish one person from another. They are very important.

According to scientists, genetics plays an important role in the formation of intelligence - inheritance occurs in more than 50% of cases. This conclusion is supported by various studies carried out in recent decades focused mainly on twins. Scientists have found that children who have not lived with biological parents from birth are very similar in terms of intelligence. In these situations, environmental influences are secondary, adopted children are not intellectually similar to their adoptive parents.

But still we are talking about 50% of cases. What if the intelligence of the other 50% of people is not in the genes? How then is intelligence transmitted from parents to children? To answer this question, scientists are looking for specific genes responsible for the heredity of intelligence. They found that hundreds, perhaps thousands of genes are involved in this process. Each of them is involved in a certain, sometimes minimal way, but, despite this, it is extremely important. Recent studies from a large group have identified genes that account for another 5% of the differences seen in intelligence tests. There are still 45% left.

Moving forward, researchers come to other interesting conclusions. For example, the influence of a genetic factor on intelligence has been shown to increase with age. While in babies, inheritance is manifested in about 20%, at the age of about 10 years this number is already 40%, in adulthood - up to 60%. Consequently, the inheritance of intelligence from parents occurs simultaneously with the ability to gain knowledge and experience.

Factors that determine the level of IQ

A specific category of genes, “conditional”, is responsible for the heredity of intelligence. But they are effective only in the case of descent from the mother, extremely rarely from the father. These genes determine the mental abilities, transmitted mainly from the mother. They are the answer to the question from whom the intellect is transmitted to the child. In laboratory tests conducted by experts in the field of psychogenetics on mice, it was found that individuals with large amounts of maternal genes had enlarged heads and brains, but they had small bodies. Mice with increased amounts of paternal genes had small brains but large bodies.

Scientists isolated cells that contained only paternal or maternal genes in 6 parts of the mouse brain responsible for mental functions. Paternal cells accumulated in parts involved in sexuality, aggression, nutrition. Consequently, it was precisely these qualities that were inherited through the male line.

But this cerebral cortex lacked more advanced mental functions (thinking, speech). Since the mouse brain is not similar to the human one, scientists from the University of Glasgow, wondering if intelligence is inherited, decided to take a different approach, working directly with humans.

Therefore, since 1994, they have conducted a survey among almost 13,000 people (14-22 years old). Specialists took into account their race, social status, financial situation. The results showed that these people had the same IQ as their mothers. Therefore, intelligence is transmitted through the female line.

But it has also been shown that genetics is not the only factor influencing the level of intelligence. Heredity is only 40-60%, the rest belongs to the living environment, human development. But the role of the mother is also important here.

Intelligence develops mainly in children who have a strong bond with their mothers.

Scientists from the University of Washington have concluded that the close psychological bond between a child (son or daughter) and mother is an important factor in the growth of certain parts of the brain. This discovery was documented in a 7-year study involving several mothers with children.

Boys and girls who received emotional support had a 10% larger hippocampus than babies whose mothers were more psychologically distant.

Attentive mothers also seek to help their children solve problems, to enable them to reach their full potential. Of course, there is no reason why these abilities cannot be passed on by fathers. The mind can develop "paternal" properties, such as intuition, emotions.

Origin of intelligence

The bold idea that intelligence is inherited through the female line has its origins in current research aimed at studying the topic from whom a child inherits intelligence. According to the New Scientist magazine, a group of German biologists for the first time discovered that the average intelligence of men and women is about the same, but the former is characterized by a wider range of levels, among them there are more mentally retarded, but at the same time, more geniuses.

Another remarkable fact is that more often than from fathers, children inherit mental disorders from mothers. 30 years ago, American biologist Robert Lehrke concluded that many of the "intelligence genes" are concentrated on the female sex chromosome X.

This opinion was supported by Ulm University researchers U. Zechner and H. Heimister, who published the results of their work in the journal Trends in Genetics. According to them, ancient women, choosing fathers for their children, activated an evolutionary process that led to a fundamental development of thinking, growth human brain. Only thanks to them people moved away from others of their own kind from the animal world.

IQ changes throughout life

But it should be said that IQ does not remain unchanged throughout a person's life. The indicator of intelligence varies depending on the environment in which he lives, upbringing, education. Due to these effects, the human IQ can fluctuate both positively and negatively. However, these fluctuations change IQ values in the order of ones, not tens. Those. we are not talking about significant changes.

If a child is born with a lower IQ, mental ability can be partly acquired through good upbringing, education.

IQ Inheritance Doesn't Guarantee Intelligent Children

The fact that intelligence and IQ are mostly hereditary is not a law that guarantees the birth of a child with an above-average intelligence to intelligent parents. Yes, he will have better prerequisites than a child born to 2 mentally retarded people. But the IQ score also depends on other factors and genes that children can take from their parents. Thus, the high intelligence of both parents does not guarantee a significant level of intelligence in children.

Similarly, if both parents have an average or low IQ, this does not mean that they cannot produce a modern Einstein. The inheritance of intelligence is a complex process that has not been sufficiently studied to date. Therefore, it is impossible to say in advance whether a child will have a level of intelligence above or below average.

Is the heredity of intelligence overestimated?

Mathematics proves that there are at least 2 types of infinity: actual and potential. Potential infinity is more than actual infinity. The intelligence of any person can be associated with a lesser, actual infinity: it is limited, but at the same time potentially infinite. There are no stupid people.

Some theories claim that intelligence is largely (about 50-80%) innate, inherited. What does it mean? In practice, not much. Inheritance does not appear in a vacuum, but in the environment, in the context of education. A person who is "innately stupid" in one environment may be "innately intelligent" in another.

How is this possible? Imagine a beautiful rose in a garden. Are beautiful flowers the result of genetics or the environment? If both factors act separately, this can be easily tested. Plant a cactus next to the roses, which will rot in the spring, at most, live until the fall and freeze. The same environment with a different result suggests the influence of a genetic factor, you might think.

But it's not. If you repeat the experiment not in your garden, but in a subtropical climate, you will get exactly the opposite result: a beautiful flowering cactus and dried roses. Therefore, genes and environment(education) influence not separately, but in combination.

Good care of a plant can only partially improve the situation in an unacceptable environment. In the same way, endless IQ courses will not make a genius out of a fool without determining the cause of the obstacle, inhibition. In the context of our civilization, this factor is not a lack of water, nutrients, warmth, but in destructive internal processes - in the body, brain, style of thinking of each person.

One of the most important factors is stress and the physical activation associated with it, suitable for fight or flight, but unsuitable for intellectual action. Stress causes a number of physiological processes that, among other things, reduce blood flow in the brain, stimulate the activation of nerve centers designed for instantaneous reactions; reflexive reactions, impulsiveness, and emotions predominate. At the same time, the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex, essential for typical human abilities, are being muted.

The role of stress in Everyday life is well illustrated by Porges' polyvagal theory - the theory of 3 different reactions to stress associated with the activity of the vagus nerve (nervus vagus). In a calm state, the vagus nerve sends signals to the brain that everything is in order; a person perceives his surroundings well, feels comfortable, everything in his body works properly.

In the event of an increase in stress above a certain level, a person “switches” to an evolutionarily older mode, reacts with sympathetic activity. The body has not realized for several hundred years of civilization that most of the current stressors and threats require a completely different response than those that man has achieved over millions of years of evolution. Under stress, digestion slows down, breathing and heartbeat accelerate, sweating increases - a person prepares by all available means for the physical activity necessary to fight or escape.

Finding that neither fight nor flight will help, the person falls to the historically oldest stage, immobilizes. With no way to escape or win, the last thing left is to give up, hope the threat passes. In this or the previous state, the mind is not at its best, intellectual and social opportunities are limited.

A significant part of human stupidity at some point is not related to an abstract "lack of IQ", but to a limited ability to use one's thinking. The most important role in this is played by susceptibility to stress. It turns out a rather banal result: calm down - and you will grow wiser.

conclusions

So, what to take from the existing knowledge about how intelligence is inherited? Both genetic and genetic factors play a role in the development of intelligence. environmental factors, but the opinions of experts regarding their percentage vary greatly. As a rule, each person has an innate tendency to move towards a certain IQ, and the environment affects the degree to which he approaches this level.

Today, most scientists agree that the factors in the development of intelligence are a combination of genes, education, and environment. Therefore, IQ depends on the genes inherited from parents, the quality and safety of the environment. The quality of food (sufficient amount of nutrients, vitamins) also has an impact on intelligence. It has been proven that the presence of certain harmful substances in the soil and in the air in the place where children live affects the level of IQ.