We know many of our characteristics are genetic and are inherited from our parents: Eye color, hair color, butt size.
Other things we assume we learned from life experience and had control over. But recent genetic research shows that things we once thought were choices or learned are actually shaped by our DNA. Take our choice of foods. When I looked at my DNA results, it came as no surprise that I have a low sensitivity to bitter tastes. I love Starbucks Sumatra Coffee (their most bitter coffee), very dark chocolate, and lemons. The bad news is that people with this genetic makeup also tend to prefer fat, which explains why I love butter and heavy cream.
Ghirardelli Intense Dark 92% Cacoa
My DNA results came back as inconclusive on whether or not I have a sweet tooth. That’s no surprise. I’m not sure myself. The company told me I could take a more sophisticated test for more money to find out. I decided to spend the money on ice cream instead.
Our DNA can make us susceptible to or protect us from nasty chemicals. Ozzie Osborn has survived years of drug and alcohol abuse. Geneticists determined Ozzie has a never-before-seen mutation on his ADH4 gene that detoxifies alcohol much faster than normal. His DNA also revealed that he is more likely than the average person to have alcohol cravings and cocaine addiction. Geneticists call him a genetic mutant because his ADH4 gene makes him addictive and detoxifies him. (1)
Ozzie Osborne - a genetic mutant (1)
Since I have a fat-loving gene, if I were a genetic mutant, I’d choose a mutation of fat-loving and fat dissolving. If you could have designer genes, what would you pick? The butt-slimming or butt-enhancing?
Apparently, there’s even a gene that gives us personality traits that help determine the way we vote. (2) Several studies suggest variations in our DRD4 dopamine receptor gene, which controls our reward and pleasure center, which determines how we feel about risk-taking and novelty-seeking, behaviors sometimes associated with liberals. Other research has shown that areas in the brain that impact our response to stressful stimuli are different for liberals and conservatives, For example, some people have a larger amygdala, the fear center of the brain. So if you see someone climbing Mt. Everest or whooping it up on the KingDa Ka roller coaster, the scariest roller coaster in the world, can you assume they are a Democrat?
I took my DNA test to see if I had Indian (Native American) ancestry as almost every North American claims. It’s part of our family folklore, plus a couple of people researching our family line have secondary evidence of such ancestry. The results of my DNA test were conclusive. I do. Eight generations back. In the 1800s - Punjabi Indian.* Won’t Dad be surprised?
The DNA company I used reports periodically on things I can learn from my DNA. The dashboard lists 11 categories and over 150 traits including freckles, fear of the dentist, and ear wax. I really don’t need to pay extra to know that don’t have freckles, I don’t fear the dentist, and I can’t imagine why I’d care whether my ear wax is wet or dry.
One of the reports in the special abilities category is computer training. I didn’t know computers have been around long enough to impact the DNA we inherit. The company says
According to the DNA company, I have enhanced computer learning abilities. That “If you thoroughly read the instructions on how to operate an unfamiliar piece of technology, you should be able to adapt to it without making a lot of errors.” Wouldn’t that be true of anyone? If you thoroughly read the instructions, you won’t make as many errors. This report says my HTR2A gene gives me lower impulsivity and may make me more likely to take time to fully understand how something operates before proceeding with it. The only thing is about halfway through the instructions, my BORED gene kicks ins.
It seems like many of the revelations of the 150 traits from my DNA test are pretty obvious. By the time we are four, we are probably aware of our hair color, eye color, and if we have freckles. By 16 we should know if we are prone to acne. By 30 we should know everything we are allergic to. By 50 we should know if our hair greys early or late. By my age, I know about 149 of the 150 traits and I don’t want to spend the money to find out how my DNA impacts my testosterone levels.
There’s one trait my DNA company doesn’t have in its list of traits; the gene responsible for a person’s sense of humor. After comparing the DNA of people who liked Seinfeld and those who preferred C-Span, researchers at the Lachen Institute in Trenton, NJ** honed in on a humor gene that they infused in mice. The mice with the infused gene emitted a high-pitched squeak when they were shown a picture of a cat being hit by an anvil. The author noted "I think we can safely assume the mice were laughing at the cat's misfortune," Because the gene's protein contains a large number of histidines and alanines, the researchers have settled on calling it HAHA-1. (published April 1). (3)
So current research on DNA says we aren’t in as much control as we think we are. Apparently, DNA controls our culinary, political, and humor tastes. Next time you do something quirky, you can tell people, “My DNA made me do it.”
Notes
* DNA companies compare your DNA to reference files of all the people in their DNA database. If one of your genes matches a large percentage of people in a certain population (e.g., people from England, Scotland, Punjab, India) then there is a good statistical chance that population is in your ancestry. This may or may not be true. The results are only as good as the reference database used. My report said a location in my chromosome 17 matched people whose ancestry is Punjab. I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of Punjab people in the reference database (maybe 2?) and that instead of my having Punjab ancestry those two Punjabis have British ancestry. I have traced my family history on both sides back to the 1800s and there is no indication of travel to India nor possible contact with people from India. My report also one of my ancestors 34 generations back, in 1150, was from Puerto Rico. That was 300 years before Christopher Columbus made his way over to the Americas. There was no Puerto Rico!
** Lachen – German. To laugh
References
Bill Sullivan, Gene's Addiction, or Why Ozzy Osbourne Is Still Alive, Discover, Oct 10, 2019
Bill Sullivan, Why we like what we like: A scientist’s surprising findings, Nationalgeographic.org,
David Grimm, Researchers Locate Funny Gene, science.org, April 1, 2005
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