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Study Says Prenatal Environment Plays Important Role
in Child's Intelligence
A child's intelligence may have less to do with
the genes inherited from his or her parents - and
more to do with its prenatal environment - than
previously believed, according to researchers from
Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. |
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In a study for the
journal Nature, the researchers say
the genes from a child's parents may only account
for as much as 50% of intelligence - in fact, the
researchers think it's more likely to be even less
of a factor because of some similarities in the
genes of both parents. On the other hand, the
researchers say their studies indicate that the
quality of their stay in the womb accounts for 20%
of the similarity in intelligence among twins and 5%
of the similarity among siblings. Previously,
scientists have not given much credence to the idea
that what's described as "maternal effects" have any
bearing on a child's intellect. |
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Generally, what all this
means is that - in the view of the researchers - the argument
over whether intelligence is determined by "nature," in the form
of genes, or "nurture," as a result of a child's environment,
goes to the "nurture" forces. But it's not quite in the way most
scientists pictured it - the researchers say the maternal
effects seem to play a more important role in determining
intelligence than even the home environment of a child. The
researchers say the study some important implications for
society at large. For instance, they suggest that one reason
certain minority groups and poor people don't test as well as
others may be due to inadequate prenatal care rather than some
of the racial theories offered in recent years.
"It will be important to understand the basis for these
maternal effects if ways in which IQ might be increased are to
be identified," the Nature editors say in a synopsis of the
Carnegie-Mellon study.
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