This is the blog for GW students taking Human Evolutionary Genetics. This site is for posting interesting tidbits on: the patterns and processes of human genetic variation;human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.

GWHEG figure

GWHEG figure

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

The Genes we don’t inherit still affect us

A recent study looked at data from people and their parents to try and quantify how genes not acquired from the parents still influenced the individual.  A mother diagnosed with anxiety will affect the environment she creates for her daughter even if this trait is not passed down to the daughter. They found that combined, the variants that weren’t passed down had an effect about 30% as big as the genes that were passed down. Genetic nurture is an important aspect when it comes to parenting, and different parents provide different types of nurture. How a parent provides nurture however is related to the parent’s behavior which is ultimately affected by their genes. Although this study focused on one person and their parents this might be a chain of passed traits as parents are influenced by parents as the chain continues.

- Umazi (Joanne) Munga

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