You don't say?
Posted on 11/08/2010 10:54:35 AM PST by Academiadotorg
Academic researchers are still trying to find a way to explain the left-ward drift of students without accounting for public schools. “Liberals may owe their political outlook partly to their genetic make-up, according to new research from the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University,” Hannah Gregory reports on the UCSD News Center. “Ideology is affected not just by social factors, but also by a dopamine receptor gene called DRD4.”
“The study’s authors say this is the first research to identify a specific gene that predisposes people to certain political views. Appearing in the latest edition of The Journal of Politics published by Cambridge University Press, the research focused on 2,000 subjects from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. By matching genetic information with maps of the subjects’ social networks, the researchers were able to show that people with a specific variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults, but only if they had an active social life in adolescence.”
Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.
If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail mal.kline@academia.org
Time to lock up the kids from all the tattooed and pierced maggots wearing skinny jeans.
Must have been in the “junk” DNA.
My wife was on a rage the other week when she read somewhere that “conservative are missing a gene”.
We both said at the same time “Yeah - the ‘stupid gene’”!
Not the “blue” gene?
It appears they found the “liberal” gene right between the “gay” gene and the “pedophile” gene.
There is no liberal gene. I’m sick of “scientists” looking for a gene for every aspect of human behavior.
Doesn’t make evolutionary sense, since liberals are more likely to abort their babies and have fewer children, they should be on the endangered species list. They should never be able to win a single election.
Hey, we need to find that Liberal Gene and run him the heck out of town.
Liberal Jeans - why I stopped wearing Levis.
If you have a longer repeat of a DNA repeat in the gene, you are less sensitive to dopamine.
Dopamine is the brain's “good boy!” chemical. It tells you that what you did was good and you are happy about it.
People who have the repeat variation of the gene and are less sensitive to dopamine are usually of the “thrill seeker” personality type. They have to push the envelope every time to get the same amount of “thrill” from dopamine.
I wonder how or why variation in this gene would be linked to liberalism/ but my first guess is that it is all about FEELINGS, not actual intellectual assessment. Dopamine is about feelings. Feeling good. Feeling good about yourself, not because you actually helped someone, but because you are FOR the government helping them!?!?!?!?
Who knows.
The fact is that this is not a “liberal gene” this is a variation in the dopamine receptor gene.
Most genes like an “obesity” gene or whatever are not actually anything of the sort, it is that a particular variation of the gene doing its job better or worse makes a certain behaviors or outcomes more or less likely.
Much as most “intelligence” genes are actually variations of immune system genes that make you less prone to diseases in utero that can really mess up your intelligence.
You don't say?
One too many chromosomes causes mental retardation. One too many genes causes liberalism.
I suppose now liberals will be standing in a new line wanting handouts.
It’s the latest syndrome, lets throw gobs of money at it so we can study it more in depth........
“It appears they found the “liberal” gene right between the “gay” gene and the “pedophile” gene.”
Actually, they found it on the DOPEamine receptor, which surprises me not in the least.
Another prominent study discounted the impact of the drd4 gene and provided conclusive evidence of the id10t gene as being responsible. That and a lack of oxygen at birth. Oh yeah, and crack.
Rabbis have Levi genes.
I stand corrected.
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