Friday, March 23, 2018

Freewill

“Genetics play a huge part in who we are. But we also have freewill.” (Aidan Quinn)

Our genes don’t dictate our existence. Our fate isn’t determined by our families. Living a healthy lifestyle, eating well, exercising, managing stress, and loving others affects your body and your DNA in a big way. You can mold your behavior to change your genetics. Genes can be turned on and off by experiences and environment.

This gives you hope for a brighter future. Have you ever been curious about the genetics of your family tree? Have any of your relatives had health problems that have/had affected your family? What exactly do any of us inherit from our parents’ deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)?
 
Thanks to advances in medical research. Doctors have/had the tools to understand much about increased risks for certain illnesses, and how they can pass on from one generation of a family to the next. Biologically, children are a blend of their parent’s DNA. Below are five traits to know about the DNA parents pass on to their children.

1.   The Obvious: The most obvious indicator of genetics is our height, skin color; hair color, eye color, and general build closely resemble our parents. Not only does our parents’ DNA influence our appearance, but the DNA of our grandparents, aunts, and uncles is visibly recognizable too. Inherited traits bring about things like he curl in your hair and the crick in your nose.

 

2.   Longevity: What happens when your face sees the sun? Do you sneeze? This is called a photonic sneeze reflex and it is passed on through your genes. Our general health and well-being are significant ly environmentally influenced, but there are specific genetic codes that influence our biology. Risks of obesity, high blood pressure, and allergies are all notable health traits passed along through our DNA.

 

 

3.   Intelligence: Intelligence is a tricky trait to pin down. While it’s true that a family’s intelligence quotient (IQ) is typically within a range of fifteen points, the genetic likelihood of being the smart kid can’t be exact. Sixty percent of our ability to learn comes from our parents. This with our learning environment and nutrition is highly influential in our potential to learn.

 

4.   Talkativeness: Our openness to new experience are all linked to our DNA. Do you have/had extroverted parents? You’re more likely to have/had that tendency not only because of your environment, but because extroversion is inherited.

 

Personality and emotionalism are genetic effects that can profoundly influence our social lives. How we respond to stressful situations or feelings is also biologically correlated. Our biological response of fight-or-flight can be different for different individuals. Some of us are more open to new experiences.

 

5. Talents: Are exceptionally musical parents more likely to have/had musical children? If you’re a runner, will your kids be runners too? Our genetics do have/had some influence over our talents and abilities. Genetic tendency for high hand-eye-coordination and heightened perception for rhythm and pitch have/had all been proven. But if the DNA to be a natural musician or athlete is there, and the action is never taught or harnessed, these genetic abilities are virtually useless.

 

 “The family we choose for ourselves is more important than the one we were born into; that people have/had to earn our respect and trust, not have/had it handed to them simply because of genetics.”  ( Charles de Lint) [i]



[i] Sources used:
·        “5 Things to Know About the DNA You Pass on to Your Children” by All Pro Dad
 
·        “All about Genetics” by KidsHealth

·        “Intelligence Quotient” by Wikipedia

 

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