Admin: 1 версия импортирована

2025-11-13T18:00:22Z

1 версия импортирована

← Предыдущая версия		Версия от 18:00, 13 ноября 2025
(нет различий)

ru>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#bbc.co.uk misc

2025-09-15T05:14:20Z

Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#bbc.co.uk misc

Новая страница

{{Short description|Public misconceptions about genetic science}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
During the latter half of the 20th century, the fields of [[genetics]] and [[molecular biology]] matured greatly, significantly increasing understanding of [[Biology|biological]] [[heredity]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/171737a0 |last1=Watson |first1=J.D. |authorlink1=James D. Watson |last2=Crick |first2=F.H.C. |authorlink2=Francis Crick |title=Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids |journal=Nature |volume=171 |pages=737–8 |year=1953 |url=http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/Y/W/_/scbbyw.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525130051/http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/Y/W/_/scbbyw.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 May 2006 |pmid=13054692 |issue=4356 |bibcode=1953Natur.171..737W|s2cid=4253007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crick |first1=FH |last2=Barnett |first2=L |last3=Brenner |first3=S |authorlink3=Sydney Brenner |last4=Watts-Tobin |first4=RJ |title=General nature of the genetic code for proteins |journal=Nature |volume=192 |issue= 4809|pages=1227–32 |date=December 1961 |pmid=13882203 |doi=10.1038/1921227a0 |bibcode=1961Natur.192.1227C|s2cid=4276146 }}</ref><ref name="IHGSC">{{cite journal | author=International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium | title=Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=409 | pages=860–921 | year=2001 | doi=10.1038/35057062 | pmid=11237011 | issue=6822|bibcode = 2001Natur.409..860L | url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62798/1/409860a0.pdf | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Venter">{{cite journal |last1=Venter |first1=JC |authorlink1=Craig Venter|last2=Adams |first2=MD |last3=Myers |first3=EW | title=The sequence of the human genome. | journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] | volume=291 | pages=1304–51 | year=2001 | url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/291/5507/1304.pdf | doi=10.1126/science.1058040 | pmid=11181995 | issue=5507|bibcode = 2001Sci...291.1304V | doi-access=free }}</ref> As with other complex and evolving [[Field of study|fields of knowledge]], the [[Public awareness of science|public awareness]] of these advances has primarily been through the [[mass media]], and a number of '''common misunderstandings of genetics''' have arisen.

==Genetic determinism==
{{Main|Genetic determinism}}
It is a popular misconception that all patterns of an animal's behaviour, and more generally its [[phenotype]], are rigidly determined by its genes. Although many examples of animals exist that display certain well-defined behaviour that is genetically programmed,<ref>For example, [http://www.personalityresearch.org/evolutionary/sphexishness.html see this discussion] of the behaviour of the [[Sphex|digger wasp]]</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2025|reason=This is a non [[WP:RS]] and not formatted as a source}} these examples cannot be extrapolated to all animal behaviour. There is good evidence that some basic aspects of human behaviour, such as [[circadian rhythm]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Florez |first1=Jose |last2=Takahashi |first2=Joseph |title=The Circadian Clock: From Molecules to Behaviour |journal=Annals of Medicine |date=1 August 1995 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=481–490 |doi=10.3109/07853899509002457|pmid=8519510 }}</ref> are genetically based, but it is clear that many other aspects are not.

In the first place, much phenotypic variability does not stem from genes themselves. For example:
# [[Epigenetic inheritance]]. In the widest definition this includes all biological inheritance mechanisms that do not change the DNA sequence of the [[genome]]. In a narrower definition it excludes biological phenomena such as the effects of [[prions]] and maternal antibodies which are also inherited and have clear survival implications.
# [[Learning|Learning from experience]]. This feature is obviously important for humans, but there is considerable evidence of learned behaviour in other animal species ([[vertebrate]]s and [[invertebrate]]s). There are even reports of learned behaviour in ''[[Drosophila]]'' [[larva]]e.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gerber |first1=Bertram |last2=Hendel |first2=Thomas |title=Outcome expectations drive learned behaviour in larval Drosophila |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=7 December 2006 |volume=273 |issue=1604 |pages=2965–2968 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.3673 |pmid=17015355 |pmc=1639518}}</ref>

==A gene for ''X''==
In the early years of genetics it was suggested that there might be "a gene for" a wide range of particular characteristics. This was partly because the examples studied from [[Gregor Mendel|Mendel]] onwards inevitably focused on genes whose effects could be readily identified; partly that it was easier to teach science that way; and partly because the mathematics of evolutionary dynamics is simpler if there is a simple mapping between genes and phenotypic characteristics.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nowak | first1 = Martin | title = Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life | publisher = [[Harvard University Press|Belknap Press]] | date= October 2006 | isbn = 978-0-674-02338-3}}</ref>

These have led to the general perception that there is "a gene for" arbitrary traits,<ref name=Bishop2010>{{cite web |last=Bishop |first=Dorothy |title=Where does the myth of a gene for things like intelligence come from? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/sep/09/gene-intelligence-genetic-testing |work=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=11 September 2010 |date=9 September 2010}}</ref> leading to controversy in particular cases such as the purported "[[gay gene]]".<ref>{{cite news| title = Doubt cast on 'gay gene' | publisher = [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] | date= 1999-04-23 | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/325979.stm | access-date = 29 June 2007}}</ref> However, in light of the known complexities of gene expression networks (and phenomena such as [[epigenetics]]), it is clear that instances where a single gene "codes for" a single, discernible phenotypic effect are rare, and that media presentations of "a gene for ''X''" grossly oversimplify the vast majority of situations.

==Genes as a blueprint==
It is widely believed that genes provide a "blueprint" for the body in much the same way that [[architecture|architectural]] or [[mechanical engineering]] blueprints describe buildings or machines.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dusheck |first1=J |title=The interpretation of genes |journal=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History]] |volume=111 |pages=52–9 |year=2002 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_8_111/ai_92284523}}</ref> At a superficial level, genes and conventional blueprints share the common property of being low [[dimension]]al (genes are organised as a one-dimensional string of [[nucleotide]]s;<ref name=RD/> blueprints are typically two-dimensional drawings on paper) but containing information about fully three-dimensional structures. However, this view ignores the fundamental differences between genes and blueprints in the nature of the mapping from low order information to the high order object.

In the case of biological systems, a long and complicated chain of interactions separates genetic information from [[macroscopic]] structures and functions. The following simplified diagram of causality illustrates this:

:Genes → Gene expression → Proteins → Metabolic pathways → Sub-cellular structures → Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organisms

Even at the small scale, the relationship between genes and proteins (once thought of as "[[one gene, one polypeptide]]")<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chris |first1=Evers |title=The One Gene/One Enzyme Hypothesis |url=https://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/One_Gene_One_Enzyme.html |website=Access Excellence |publisher=National Health Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022174326/https://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/One_Gene_One_Enzyme.html |archive-date=22 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> is more complicated, because of [[alternative splicing]].

Also, the causal chains from genes to functionality are not separate or isolated but are entangled together, most obviously in [[metabolic pathway]]s (such as the [[Calvin cycle|Calvin]] and [[citric acid cycle]]s) which link a succession of [[enzyme]]s (and, thus, gene products) to form a coherent [[biochemistry|biochemical]] system. Furthermore, information flow in the chain is not exclusively one-way. While the [[central dogma of molecular biology]] describes how information cannot be passed back to inheritable genetic information, the other causal arrows in this chain can be [[wikt:bidirectional|bidirectional]], with complex feedbacks ultimately regulating [[gene expression]].

Instead of being a simple, linear mapping, this complex relationship between genotype and phenotype is not straightforward to [[Code|decode]]. Rather than describing genetic information as a blueprint, some have suggested that a more appropriate [[analogy]] is that of a [[recipe]] for [[cooking]],<ref name=RD>{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Dawkins | author-link = Richard Dawkins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPpaZnZMDG0C | title = The Blind Watchmaker | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. | location = New York | orig-year = 1986 | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-0-393-31570-7 |page=295}}</ref> where a collection of [[ingredient]]s is combined via a set of instructions to form an [[emergent property|emergent structure]], such as a cake, that is not described explicitly in the recipe itself.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pistoi |first1=Sergio |title=DNA Is Not a Blueprint |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/dna-is-not-a-blueprint/ |website=Scientific American |language=en |date=6 February 2020}}</ref>

==Genes as words==
[[File:Gene Intron Exon nb.svg|thumb|270x270px|This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of [[DNA]] and to a [[chromosome]] (right). [[Intron]]s are regions often found in [[eukaryote]] genes which are removed in the [[splicing (genetics)|splicing]] process: only the [[exon]]s encode the [[protein]]. This diagram labels a region of only 40 or so bases as a gene. In reality most genes are hundreds of times larger and have several Introns, sometimes over 100.]]

It is popularly supposed that a gene is "a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA"<ref>gene. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved 30 May 2007, from [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gene Dictionary.com website]</ref> and even some current medical dictionaries define a gene as "a hereditary unit that occupies a specific location on a chromosome, determines a particular characteristic in an organism by directing the formation of a specific protein, and is capable of replicating itself at each cell division."<ref>gene. (n.d.). The American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved 30 May 2007, from [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gene Dictionary.com website]</ref>

In fact, as the diagram illustrates schematically, genes are much more complicated and elusive concepts. A reasonable modern definition of a gene is "a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, which is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions and/or other functional sequence regions."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pearson |first1=H |title=Genetics: What is a gene? |journal=Nature |volume=441 |issue= 7092|pages=398–401 |year=2006 |doi=10.1038/441398a |pmid=16724031|bibcode = 2006Natur.441..398P |s2cid=4420674 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

This kind of misperception is perpetuated when mainstream media report that an organism's genome has been "deciphered" when they mean that it has simply been [[Sequencing|sequenced]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wade |first1=Nicholas |title=Genome of DNA Discoverer Is Deciphered (Published 2007) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/science/01gene.html |work=The New York Times |date=1 June 2007 |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2025|reason=This ref is an example of that happening, but we should have a ref saying that this happens}}

==Ancestry and ethnicity==
[[Genetic ancestry test]]s advertised by companies such as [[23andMe]] and [[AncestryDNA]] do not actually reveal a person's geographical ancestral origins or determine their race and ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krimsky |first1=Sheldon |title=Understanding DNA Ancestry |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108895651 |isbn=978-1-108-84198-6 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108895651}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jobling |first1=Mark A. |last2=Rasteiro |first2=Rita |last3=Wetton |first3=Jon H. |title=In the blood: the myth and reality of genetic markers of identity |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |date=26 January 2016 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=142–161 |doi=10.1080/01419870.2016.1105990 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2016.1105990 |language=en |issn=0141-9870|hdl=2381/33343 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Debunking Genetic Astrology |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/gee/molecular-and-cultural-evolution-lab/debunking-genetic-astrology |website=UCL Division of Biosciences |language=en |date=20 August 2021}}</ref> They estimate the [[genetic ancestry]] and population group of a certain person.<ref name="Peterson Kuchenbaecker Walters Chen 2019 pp. 589–603">{{cite journal | last1=Peterson | first1=Roseann E. | last2=Kuchenbaecker | first2=Karoline | last3=Walters | first3=Raymond K. | last4=Chen | first4=Chia-Yen | last5=Popejoy | first5=Alice B. | last6=Periyasamy | first6=Sathish | last7=Lam | first7=Max | last8=Iyegbe | first8=Conrad | last9=Strawbridge | first9=Rona J. | last10=Brick | first10=Leslie | last11=Carey | first11=Caitlin E. | last12=Martin | first12=Alicia R. | last13=Meyers | first13=Jacquelyn L. | last14=Su | first14=Jinni | last15=Chen | first15=Junfang | last16=Edwards | first16=Alexis C. | last17=Kalungi | first17=Allan | last18=Koen | first18=Nastassja | last19=Majara | first19=Lerato | last20=Schwarz | first20=Emanuel | last21=Smoller | first21=Jordan W. | last22=Stahl | first22=Eli A. | last23=Sullivan | first23=Patrick F. | last24=Vassos | first24=Evangelos | last25=Mowry | first25=Bryan | last26=Prieto | first26=Miguel L. | last27=Cuellar-Barboza | first27=Alfredo | last28=Bigdeli | first28=Tim B. | last29=Edenberg | first29=Howard J. | last30=Huang | first30=Hailiang | last31=Duncan | first31=Laramie E. | title=Genome-wide Association Studies in Ancestrally Diverse Populations: Opportunities, Methods, Pitfalls, and Recommendations | journal=Cell | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=179 | issue=3 | year=2019 | issn=0092-8674 | doi=10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.051 | pages=589–603| pmid=31607513 | pmc=6939869 | hdl=20.500.12648/8361 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> They compare a person's DNA markers to that of modern populations collected in a company's database. A person's DNA markers being matched to a particular location does not necessarily indicate that their ancestors are from that location, due to the fact human populations have migrated all throughout history, and the geopolitical borders of modern nations are not the same as they were in the past.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawton |first1=Georgina |last2=Ifama |first2=Daisy |title='It made me question my ancestry': does DNA home testing really understand race? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/11/question-ancestry-does-dna-testing-really-understand-race |work=The Guardian |date=11 August 2018}}</ref> There are no genes that are unique to specific ethnic groups, as ethnic groups are created by human society rather than genetics. The actual genetic variation that exists among humans does not correlate with socially defined ethnic and racial categories,<ref>{{cite news |title=AABA Statement on Race & Racism |url=https://bioanth.org/about/position-statements/aapa-statement-race-and-racism-2019/ |work=American Association of Biological Anthropologists |year=2019}}</ref> yet there are patterns of genetic variation in some population groups that are more common than others.<ref name="Allendorf Funk Aitken Byrne 2022 pp. 39–65">{{cite book | last1=Allendorf | first1=Fred W. | last2=Funk | first2=W. Chris | last3=Aitken | first3=Sally N. | last4=Byrne | first4=Margaret | last5=Luikart | first5=Gordon | title=Conservation and the Genomics of Populations | chapter=Genetic Variation in Natural Populations | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=10 February 2022 | isbn=978-0-19-885656-6 | doi=10.1093/oso/9780198856566.003.0003 | pages=39–65}}</ref> Genetic ancestry is distinct from genealogical ancestry; as an individual's genealogical ancestors become more distant, they will become less genetically related to those ancestors, and a greater number of other individuals across the world will share those same ancestors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raff |first1=Jennifer |title=Genetic Astrology: When Ancient DNA Meets Ancestry Testing |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferraff/2019/04/09/genetic-astrology-when-ancient-dna-meets-ancestry-testing/?sh=54e1bfe76c69 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rutherford |first1=Adam |title=Ant and Dec's DNA test merely tells us that we're all inbred |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/12/ant-and-dec-dna-test-all-inbred-historical-connections |work=The Guardian |date=12 November 2019}}</ref> These tests can be used for specific connections and cases like detecting a close relative.<ref name="University 2018 g114">{{cite web | last=University | first=Stanford | title=New way to find relatives from forensic DNA | website=Stanford News | date=17 October 2018| url=https://news.stanford.edu/2018/10/17/new-way-find-relatives-forensic-dna/ | access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref> Underrepresented populations may not receive as accurate results if the company has less data on their group,<ref name="Sciences Division Policy Genomics 2020">{{cite web | author1=((National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine)) |author2=((Health and Medicine Division)) | author3=((Board on Health Sciences Policy)) |author4=((Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health)) |editor-last1=Beachy | editor-first1=Sarah H. | editor-last2=Alper | editor-first2=Joe | editor-last3=Addie | editor-first3=Siobhan | editor-last4=Hackmann | editor-first4=Meredith | title=Exploring the Role of Diversity and Health Disparities in Consumer Genomics | publisher=National Academies Press (US) | date=19 March 2020 | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559857/ | access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> although as the technology improves with tools like mid-pass whole genome sequencing this will likely change and improve.<ref name="Emde Phipps-Green Cadzow Gallagher 2021 p.">{{cite journal |last1=Emde |first1=Anne-Katrin |last2=Phipps-Green |first2=Amanda |last3=Cadzow |first3=Murray |last4=Gallagher |first4=C. Scott |last5=Major |first5=Tanya J. |last6=Merriman |first6=Marilyn E. |last7=Topless |first7=Ruth K. |last8=Takei |first8=Riku |last9=Dalbeth |first9=Nicola |last10=Murphy |first10=Rinki |author-link10=Rinki Murphy |last11=Stamp |first11=Lisa K. |last12=de Zoysa |first12=Janak |last13=Wilcox |first13=Philip L. |last14=Fox |first14=Keolu |last15=Wasik |first15=Kaja A. |date=2021 |title=Mid-pass whole genome sequencing enables biomedical genetic studies of diverse populations |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=22 |issue=1 |page= 666|doi=10.1186/s12864-021-07949-9 |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=8559369 |pmid=34719381 |doi-access=free |last16=Merriman |first16=Tony R. |last17=Castel |first17=Stephane E.}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Misunderstandings of Genetics}}
[[Category:Genetics]]
[[Category:Lists of common misconceptions]]

Common misunderstandings of genetics - История изменений

Admin: 1 версия импортирована

ru>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#bbc.co.uk misc