By Lubna Abdel-Aziz What gene will scientists discover next? First it was the God gene that identified why some of us are more spiritual, more God fearing, more "church going" than others. While the descriptions and explanation given by scientists could have been reached by reasonable deduction, however the world was impressed with this discovery. Next came the self-destructive gene following the death of young John Kennedy and his wife in a private plane crash. The Kennedy Curse, a book written by Edward Klein, describes how some of us, like the Kennedys, take unnecessary and daring risks, and end up by paying the ultimate price. Several deaths in the Kennedy family were tragic and could have been avoided. President Kennedy was strongly warned against taking that fateful trip to Dallas, but he defied the odds and fell victim to the bullets of a lone shooter. We then heard of a 'common sense gene' which lumped all moderate, traditional, regular folk together. Last week (October 28th) in the heat of the midterm elections of the US Congress and a fierce objection to the liberal ways of the Obama administration, scientists announced the discovery of a liberal gene. Liberals, led by president Obama, were stopped in their tracks by a GOP tsunami November 2nd. Poor liberals, they cannot help it! They are only victims of a gene they carry, namely the 'liberal gene.' The recent study by scientists at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and Harvard University concluded that those who carry a variant of a gene identified as DRD4 are predisposed to certain political views -- i.e. liberal views. The authors however, rush to caution us that this occurs only if they enjoyed an active adolescent social life. Where does that leave us? The study that has just appeared in the latest edition of the Journal of Politics, published by Cambridge University Press, reports that "It is the crucial interaction of two factors, the genetic disposition together with an environmental condition of having many friends during adolescence." Together they produce a liberal ideologue. Does that mean that it is half genes and half environment? Exactly, says the lead researcher. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation - the research focuses on Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that affects a wide variety of brain processes including control over movement, emotions, and ability to experience pleasure and pain. This personality trait has been shown to be linked to political liberalism. Conclusion? Again according to the lead researcher, UCSD's James H Fowler, a genetic predisposition to seek new experiences would tend toward liberalism, "But only if they have a number of friends when growing up," says Fowler. Ideology is about 40% heritable; "it's almost half genes and half environment." Is that not much ado about nothing? Have we not heard this before? Have we not all accepted the fact that we are the product of our heredity and our environment? Did we need an extensive study of 2,570 people by two major Universities and an army of researchers to come to this conclusion? Is this the earth-shattering discovery that will change the course of the human race? If liberals can be identified by a gene DRD4, can conservatives also be identified by another gene? Is there a cure for either? The authors wished to explore if politics were heritable by identifying a specific gene variant, associated with political leanings. The study concluded that -- political ideology is derived from the interaction of a person's social environment and his genetic predisposition? Is that a waste of time, money and human energy? Nature and nurture have been an accepted reality for at least the last 100 years. It was ten years ago that a medical revolution took place -- the decoding of the human genome. A new threshold for medicine, for science, for man, was discovered. The research had taken over ten years and $3 billion to complete. It was hailed as "more important that the invention of the wheel." Now we could avoid, prevent, or treat every disease. No more crimes, no more malformations, no more sudden deaths. With the genome map at our disposal, we could conquer all. That was ten years ago. Francis Collins, the present director of the US National Institute of Health (NIH), admits that "The Human Genome Project has not yet directly affects the health care of normal individuals." Amen! Scientists admit the work is painstakingly slow, but some advances have been made, such as the discovery that inheritance is not just a case of "passing on a particular DNA sequence;" genes also behave according to environment, a circumstances leading to the phenomenon known as Epigenetics. Many new traits can be inherited by some unknown route, other than mutation of the DNA. Now we need to decipher the mysterious and even more complex "Epigenome." How long will that take? Will it make any difference? In the last ten years scientists have not yet offered us the tools to improve the lot of the human race. Are the next ten years to be as inconsequential as the last 10 years? Oh No, say the scientists -- the cost of sequencing genes has been reduced to $1,000 instead of $10,000 per sequence; that is a comfort indeed, since the price of everything else is rising, except in the brave new world of genes There is one beneficial medical advice resulting from the genomophobia. Scientists caution us against seeking personal genome scans offered by certain companies. They give only partial maps with limited value. The only medical advice given goes something like this: "Eat well, exercise, and avoid cigarettes." My grandmother gave me the same advice. She also gave me my high cheek bones and a hot temper. My environment and my experiences taught me how to control that temper. Are such sensational headlines designed to garner attention and grant money, rather than benefit the human race? Where is the cure for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, Alzheimer's, Parkinson, etc., all killers of mankind? My grandmother and I are still waiting! Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it -- Henry Thomas Buckle (1821 -- 1862)
