Comments | qaexl: Warrior gene, eh?

qaexl

Warrior gene, eh?

Jun 23, 2009 22:22

"Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the "warrior gene," are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from The Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and ( Read more... )

demon_valley, art_of_war

Comments 4

qaexl June 24 2009, 02:54:32 UTC

What is amusing is watching the discussion on Hacker News: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=670852

I particularly liked this comment: "So the logical thing to do is to create a gene therapy correcting germlines with this variant and provide it to juvenile delinquents (or simply confirmed carriers) before they reproduce."

I can't tell if he is being sarcastic or being a dumbass :-)

-Q

thewronghands June 24 2009, 03:42:47 UTC

Heh. I of course now wonder if I have it, and if so, how many copies. I bet lots of other people reading are curious about themselves too.

qaexl June 24 2009, 05:26:37 UTC

You know, I wonder if there is a correlation with having Ghengis Khan as an ancestor (though I doubt that is signficant... lots of people are his descendent).

-Q

thewronghands June 24 2009, 13:21:15 UTC

Heh, there might be. Lots of genes have differential spread in different geographic populations; it would be interesting if that was one of 'em. (Problematic, though, in that we'd probably get a lot of racist arguments for "X population is inherently violent", even if X population turned out to be a group that no one otherwise thinks of as inherently violent.)

I doubt I have Genghis Khan as an ancestor, sadly. Dad is one of the three million or so dudes descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages (and he was so happy to have found a king to be related to!), but that's about as close as I'm likely to get.