Smart genes account for 20% of intelligence

SCIENTISTS recently announced the discovery of 52 genes linked to human intelligence, 40 of which have been identified as such for the first time.

The findings also turned up a surprising connection between intelligence and autism that could one day help shed light on the condition’s origins.

Taken together, the new batch of ‘smart genes’ accounted for 20% of the discrepencies in IQ test results among tens of thousands of people examined, the researchers reported in the journal, Nature Genetics.

“For the first time, we were able to detect a substantial amount of genetic effects in IQ,” said Danielle Posthuma, a researcher at the Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research in Amsterdam, and the main architect of the study.

“Our findings provide insight into the biological underpinnings of intelligence.”

Most of the newly-discovered gene variants linked to elevated IQ play a role in regulating cell development in the brain, especially neuron differentiation and the formation of neural information gateways called synapses.

Increasingly powerful computers have made it possible to scan and compare hundreds of thousands of genomes, matching tiny variations in DNA with diseases, body types or, in this case, native smarts.

The human genome has some 25,000 genes composed of more than three billion pairing of building-block molecules.

Many of the genetic variations linked with high IQ also correlated with other attributes: more years spent in school, bigger head size in infancy, tallness, and even success in kicking the tobacco habit.

One of the strongest – and most surprising – links was with autism, noted Posthuma.

Experts agree that genes probably account for up to half of measured intelligence.

But even if scientists could map all the genetic quirks that contribute to being brainy or smart, that might not be enough to predict IQ, much less success in life. – AFPRelaxnews