Interpreting and Re-interpreting Heritability Estimates in Educational Behavior Genetics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally A. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Practice Recommendations ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
Heritability Estimates

Interpreting heritability estimates through the lens of cultural evolution presents two broad and interlinking problems for educational behavior genetics. First, the problem of interpreting high heritability of educational phenotypes as indicators of the genetic basis of traits, when these findings also reflect cultural homogeneity. Second, the problem of extrapolating from genetic research findings in education to policy and practice recommendations.

A genetic test for Alzheimer's disease?

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 645-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Lovestone ◽  
Peter Harper
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Predictive Testing ◽  
Clinical Genetic ◽  
Patient Organisations ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Disease Experience ◽  
The Uk

Recent years have seen considerable progress in understanding the genetic basis of many diseases. There has also been a welcome and informed public debate regarding the ethical and social implications of genetic research, including predictive testing of adult onset illnesses. The UK Huntington's Prediction Consortium, a forum open to scientists, clinicians and representives from patient organisations, has established protocols for testing and has facilitated development of clinical genetic services. It has been suggested that the Huntington's disease experience might prove informative for other conditions, and a meeting was held on 5 January 1994 at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, to discuss recent research findings and possible genetic testing in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Professionals from a number of disciplines took part along with representatives of the Alzheimer's Disease Society. It was decided to form a consortium that would meet regularly and produce guidelines for future clinical applications of possible genetic tests.

Race on Both Sides of the Razor

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence D. Keel
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Political Correctness ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Social Activists ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Biological Differences

The proliferation of studies declaring that there is a genetic basis to health disparities and behavioral differences across the so-called races has encouraged the opponents of social constructionism to assert a victory for scientific progress over political correctness. I am not concerned in this essay with providing a response to critics who believe races are expressions of innate genetic or biological differences. Instead, I am interested in how genetic research on human differences has divided social constructionists over whether the race concept in science can be used for social justice and redressing embodied forms of discrimination. On one side, there is the position that race is an inherently flawed concept and that its continued use by scientists, medical professionals, and even social activists keeps alive the notion that it has a biological basis. On the other side of this debate are those who maintain a social constructionist position yet argue that not all instances of race in science stem from discriminatory politics or the desire to prove that humans belong to discrete biological units that can then be classified as superior or inferior. I would like to shift this debate away from the question of whether race is real and move instead toward thinking about the intellectual commitments necessary for science to expose past legacies of discrimination.

Personality Genetics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Derringer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Genetic Sequence ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Causal Pathway

Although correlations between personality and health are consistently observed, often the causal pathway, or even the direction of effect, is unknown. Genes provide an additional node of information which may be included to help clarify the relationship between personality and health. Genetically informative studies, whether focused on family-identified relationships or specific genotypes, provide clear benefits to disentangling causal processes. Genetic measures approach near universal reliability and validity: processes of inheritance are consistent across cultures, geography, and time, such that similar models and instruments may be applied to incredibly diverse populations. Although frequency and intercorrelations differ by ancestry background (Novembre et al., 2008) and cultural context (Tucker-Drob & Bates, 2016) may exert powerful moderating effects, fundamental form and function is consistent across all members of our species, and even many other species. Genetic sequence information is also of course highly temporally stable, and possesses temporal precedence. That is, the literal genetic sequence is lifetime-stable and comes before all other experiences. Human behavior genetic research, like most personality research, faces limitations in terms of causal inferences that may be made in the absence of experimental manipulation. But behavior genetics takes advantage of natural experiments: populations that differ in terms of genetic similarity (either inferred – such as twins – or measured – such as genotyping methods) to begin to unravel the complex influences on individual differences in personality and health outcomes.

scholarly journals Genetic analysis of three maize husk traits by QTL mapping in a maize-teosinte population

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolei Zhang ◽  
Ming Lu ◽  
Aiai Xia ◽  
Tao Xu ◽  
Zhenhai Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Molecular Breeding ◽  
Best Linear Unbiased Predictor ◽  
Maize Line ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
Outer Covering ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
Best Linear Unbiased ◽  
Variation Explained

Abstract Background The maize husk consists of numerous leafy layers and plays vital roles in protecting the ear from pathogen infection and dehydration. Teosinte, the wild ancestor of maize, has about three layers of small husk outer covering the ear. Although several quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying husk morphology variation have been reported, the genetic basis of husk traits between teosinte and maize remains unclear. Results A linkage population including 191 BC2F8 inbred lines generated from the maize line Mo17 and the teosinte line X26–4 was used to identify QTL associated with three husk traits: i.e., husk length (HL), husk width (HW) and the number of husk layers (HN). The best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) depicted wide phenotypic variation and high heritability of all three traits. The HL exhibited greater correlation with HW than HN. A total of 4 QTLs were identified including 1, 1, 2, which are associated with HL, HW and HN, respectively. The proportion of phenotypic variation explained by these QTLs was 9.6, 8.9 and 8.1% for HL, HN and HW, respectively. Conclusions The QTLs identified in this study will pave a path to explore candidate genes regulating husk growth and development, and benefit the molecular breeding program based on molecular marker-assisted selection to cultivate maize varieties with an ideal husk morphology.

scholarly journals Focus on Function in Hospitalized Persons With Dementia: The Impact of Hospital-Acquired Complications

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 762-762
Author(s):  
Marie Boltz ◽  
Lorraine Mion
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Pharmacologic Management ◽  
Hospitalized Older Adults ◽  
Hospital Acquired ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Persons with dementia (PWD) are two-three times more likely to be hospitalized as persons without dementia and comprise one fourth of hospitalized older adults. Hospitalization often has a dramatic impact upon the health and disposition of the older PWD. They are at increased risk for hospital acquired complications (HAC) such as functional decline, behavioral symptoms of distress, and delirium, all of which contribute to increased disability, mortality, and long-term nursing home stays. Despite the unprecedented number of PWD admitted to acute care, little attention has focused on their specialized needs and HAC, and how they impact functional recovery. The purpose of this symposium is to describe the incidence of common HACs, and factors that influence their occurrence and presentation in PWD. Utilizing baseline findings from the Family-centered Function-focused Care (Fam-FFC) trial, the presentations will address this objective and discuss the ramifications for functional and cognitive post-acute recovery in PWD. The first presentation will describe the incidence and pharmacologic management of pain in PWD, and its association with common HACs. The second presentation will describe physical activity in PWD on medical units and the validity of the Motionwatch8 actigraphy. The third session will describe differences in common HACs between white and black PWD. The final presentation will examine function-focused goals developed in collaboration with family caregivers and patients, and the functional outcomes associated with goal attainment. Our discussant, Dr. Lorraine Mion, will synthesize the research findings and lead a discussion of future directions for policy and practice in dementia-capable acute care.

Heritability estimates in behavior genetics: Wasn't that station passed long ago?

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim E. Crusio
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
Human Research ◽  
Real Place ◽  
Heritability Estimates

AbstractCharney describes several mechanisms that will bias estimates of heritability in unpredictable directions. In addition, the mechanisms described by Charney explain the puzzling fact that research in human-behavior genetics routinely reports higher heritabilities than animal studies do. However, I argue that the concept of heritability has no real place in human research anyway.

Open science reforms: Strengths, challenges, and future directions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn R. Wentzel
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Educational Psychology ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Science Practices ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Impact

In this article, I comment on the potential benefits and limitations of open science reforms for improving the transparency and accountability of research, and enhancing the credibility of research findings within communities of policy and practice. Specifically, I discuss the role of replication and reproducibility of research in promoting better quality studies, the identification of generalizable principles, and relevance for practitioners and policymakers. Second, I suggest that greater attention to theory might contribute to the impact of open science practices, and discuss ways in which theory has implications for sampling, measurement and research design. Ambiguities concerning the aims of preregistration and registered reports also are highlighted. In conclusion, I discuss structural roadblocks to open science reform and reflect on the relevance of these reforms for educational psychology.

scholarly journals Variability and heritability of some onion (Allium cepa L.) characteristics of parental forms, F1 hybrids and F2 generation

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roch W. Doruchowski
Keyword(s):  
Allium Cepa ◽  
F1 Hybrids ◽  
Skin Thickness ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Outer Skin ◽  
Allium Cepa L ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
Heritability Estimates ◽  
F2 Generation

The object of the studies in 1977 was a population of 15 F<sub>1</sub> hybrids, 11 F<sub>2</sub> progenies and 16 parental forms (8 male-sterile A lines and 8 inbred C lines - Table 2). Variability and heritability of some onion characteristic weight, height diameter of the bulbs and their shape, collar thickness, adherence and color of dry outer skin, bulb firmness, shape of the collar and position of root disc) were studied. Variability and heritability estimates of bulb weight, diameter and shape of the collar were relatively high (30-70%).Variability of the skin thickness was also high, but heritability of this trait was low. The lowest variability and heritability were shown for bulb firmness. The high heritability of some traits indicates the possibility of increasing the effects of selection and improvement, especially of the weight and shape of bulbs.

scholarly journals Twin studies for the investigation of the relationships between genetic factors and brain abnormalities in bipolar disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Squarcina ◽  
C. Fagnani ◽  
M. Bellani ◽  
C. A. Altamura ◽  
P. Brambilla
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
The Relationship

The pathogenesis of bipolar disorder (BD) is to date not entirely clear. Classical genetic research showed that there is a contribution of genetic factors in BD, with high heritability. Twin studies, thanks to the fact that confounding factors as genetic background or family environment are shared, allow etiological inferences. In this work, we selected twin studies, which focus on the relationship between BD, genetic factors and brain structure, evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging. All the studies found differences in brain structure between BD patients and their co-twins, and also in respect to healthy controls. Genetic effects are predominant in white matter, except corpus callosum, while gray matter resulted more influenced by environment, or by the disease itself. All studies found no interactions between BD and shared environment between twins. Twin studies have been demonstrated to be useful in exploring BD pathogenesis and could be extremely effective at discriminating the neural mechanisms underlying BD.

scholarly journals Selective Planning of the First Year Experience in Higher Education: A Sweden-Australia Comparative Study of Support

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Michael Christie ◽  
Sorrel Penn-Edwards ◽  
Sharn Donnison ◽  
Ruth Greenaway
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Satellite Campus ◽  
First Case ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The University

Literature on the support of the First Year Experience (FYE) in institutions of Higher Education provides a range of modelled approaches. However, we argue that institutions still need to selectively plan which approach/es and attendant strategies are best suited to their particular contexts and institutional policy and practice frameworks and how their FYE is to be presented for their particular student cohort. This paper compares different ways of supporting students in their first year in two contrasting universities. The first case study focuses on a first year course at Stockholm University (SU), Sweden, a large, metropolitan, single campus institution, while the second investigates a strategy for supporting first year students using a community of practice at a satellite campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), a small regional university in South-East Queensland, Australia. The research contrasts a formal, first generation support approach versus a fourth generation support approach which seeks to involve a wider range of stakeholders in supporting first year students. The research findings draw conclusions about how effective the interventions were for the students and provide clear illustrations that selective planning in considering the institution’s strategic priorities and human, physical, and resource contexts was instrumental in providing a distinctive experience which complemented the institute and the student cohort. (212 words)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document