Do Good Genes Automatically Mean Good Grades?

As offspring, we inherit many different things from that of our biological parents through genes.  Some of these are physical traits such as hair or eye colour, and some of these are characteristics or personality traits such as being a logical thinker or being a comedian.  The way in which our mind and bodies are made up are all down to our genetics.  But do these genetics have an ongoing affect on our academic performance as a student?

Research carried out shows that academic performance is strongly influenced by our individual genetic makeup, but environmental factors contribute highly also.  The results of tests conducted on sets of twins proves that genetic influence does play a part in academic performance, but this does vary from subject to subject.

However, just because someone does not hold the genetic makeup of Albert Einstein, does not mean that they can not learn to be just as clever, they just may need to work a little harder at it.  Environmental influence also plays a role in the development of our academic skills.  Oddly enough, the results of the studies showed that a happy home life, a healthy family, and a good school attended have very little good impact on grades, but those that were exposed to unhappy lives, poorer rates of school attendance, or even unusual environments such as metal contamination or radiation exposure had an adverse effect.

What we need to take away from this is that further research is needed to understand better all of the factors that affect our ability to learn and achieve good academic performance, including our genetics.  But whatever the results, it is not about singling out those that are exceptional but bridging the gap between the high performers and the low and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed.

image credit: Youtube

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