Do Your Genes Determine Your Success In Life? With Kathryn Paige Harden
Big Brains - A podcast by University of Chicago Podcast Network - Thursdays
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Experts say we’re living through a renaissance in genetics research. The Human Genome project has explained our most fundamental genetics, CRISPR gene editing can be used to shape genetic code, and companies like 23 & Me can trace your ancestry from a single saliva swab. But all this new genetic information has people asking: How much do genetics determine our outcomes in life? We all understand that our genes determine our height, hair and eye color, but what about intelligence, educational attainment or financial success? In a new book, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, behavior geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden explores these uncomfortable corners of genetics research and explains why our economic and sociopolitical systems need to take it into account.