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Isn't gene expression dependent on environment though? Is there some reason to believe that these differences are inherent, and not the result of gene expressio

by lobf 9y ago

Isn't gene expression dependent on environment though? Is there some reason to believe that these differences are inherent, and not the result of gene expression being affected by the environment?

astebbin 9y ago
IANA biologist. That said, if by "inherent" you mean primarily genetically determined, I'd say that explanation seems most likely given the evidence.
- lobf 9y ago
  >primarily genetically determined Even this statement isn't as absolute as you seem to think it is. Your genes may or may not express based on the environment in which you grow up. Primarily genetically determined doesn't make sense, since genes aren't working in a vacuum.
TheAdamAndChe 9y ago
> Is there some reason to believe that these differences are inherent, and not the result of gene expression being affected by the environment? That is a question that remains to be answered, and is only just beginning to be looked into through research on epigenetics[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics
- why42 9y ago
  If our brain structures were different (at least in so far as the organization or distribution of cells within the cranium and not the external measurement) then one would expect adopted children from places where brains are very different to perform differently then peers in new locations. Yet I remember reading a study that showed that black children from Africa adopted by white parents in Germany performed at the same level as their peers. There have been other such studies with very similar conclusions.
  - ankjl 9y ago
    It could also be that differences in academic performance (I'm assuming academic is the performance you were referring to in your comment) are not accurate metrics for identifying the effects of differential brain organization. In scenarios like that, it's also difficult to control for the impact of different level of support for students in academic matters. For example, focused support for under-performing students compared to relatively relaxed support for students meeting expectations. I could probably also see the impact of different psychological factors associated with being adopted by a family on a different continent being hard to control for.
    - why42 9y ago
      My rambling brain confounded a few studies I had read. My mistake. I was incorrect about the study being related to adoptions. It was actually something interesting that happened in Germany. I had read an environmental interpretation of the Eyferth Study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyferth_study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyferth_study

by lobf 9y ago

Isn't gene expression dependent on environment though? Is there some reason to believe that these differences are inherent, and not the result of gene expression being affected by the environment?

astebbin 9y ago

IANA biologist. That said, if by "inherent" you mean primarily genetically determined, I'd say that explanation seems most likely given the evidence.

lobf 9y ago
>primarily genetically determined Even this statement isn't as absolute as you seem to think it is. Your genes may or may not express based on the environment in which you grow up. Primarily genetically determined doesn't make sense, since genes aren't working in a vacuum.

TheAdamAndChe 9y ago

> Is there some reason to believe that these differences are inherent, and not the result of gene expression being affected by the environment? That is a question that remains to be answered, and is only just beginning to be looked into through research on epigenetics[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics

why42 9y ago
If our brain structures were different (at least in so far as the organization or distribution of cells within the cranium and not the external measurement) then one would expect adopted children from places where brains are very different to perform differently then peers in new locations. Yet I remember reading a study that showed that black children from Africa adopted by white parents in Germany performed at the same level as their peers. There have been other such studies with very similar conclusions.
- ankjl 9y ago
  It could also be that differences in academic performance (I'm assuming academic is the performance you were referring to in your comment) are not accurate metrics for identifying the effects of differential brain organization. In scenarios like that, it's also difficult to control for the impact of different level of support for students in academic matters. For example, focused support for under-performing students compared to relatively relaxed support for students meeting expectations. I could probably also see the impact of different psychological factors associated with being adopted by a family on a different continent being hard to control for.
  - why42 9y ago
    My rambling brain confounded a few studies I had read. My mistake. I was incorrect about the study being related to adoptions. It was actually something interesting that happened in Germany. I had read an environmental interpretation of the Eyferth Study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyferth_study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyferth_study