There is nothing more beautiful than a bond between a mother and her child. A mother’s life starts revolving around her child as soon as he/she comes into this world.
There is nothing more beautiful than a bond between a mother and her child. A mother’s life starts revolving around her child as soon as he/she comes into this world. It is due to the love and bonding that a mother rushes to pick up her newborn as soon as she hears him/her cry. Also, the special bond between a mother and child provides motivation for them to explore the world and solve problems together. Women play a much larger part in the child’s intellectual development, than genetics studies give them credit. Did you know that children inherit their log of intelligence from the female X chromosome? Well, that is true according to a recent genetic study. Sorry dads, please don’t get offended.
Actually, the X chromosome contains a thousand genes, and many of them have an impact on perception. Until now, most doctors believed that parents contribute equally to their child’s intelligence. However, the latest research has been proven both correct and disputable.
Most studies indicate that genetics is a highly complex and demanding field of research. Despite strong disagreement on the subject, it’s best to approach these studies from an objective perspective. So, it’s helpful to present a couple of key facts about how X and Y chromosomes work. A chromosome is a thread-like formation composed of nucleic acids and protein. They store and transfer genetic information. Every person has one pair of chromosomes in each cell of their body. The females have two X chromosomes; males tend to have an X and a Y chromosome.
As a rule, the genetic characteristic of gender-specific genes, like humans have, are either activated or deactivated depending upon the specific selection and, later on, the genetic properties become affected. The activated genes will have an impact on the genetic development, while deactivated genes will not. So, if a single characteristic is affected via the mother, the fatherly genes are deactivated. On the flipside, if a single feature is affected via the father, the maternal genes are later deactivated. The structure of these gender-specific genes forms the foundation of intelligence research. Women are apparently more likely to have an impact on cognitive abilities, as women possess two X chromosomes, while men carry only one. There is certainly more to this theory of intelligence genetics than just X chromosomes.
This is where gender-specific genes come in. Intelligence is thought to be a highly gender-specific gene that comes directly from the mother. Various scientists have used genetically-modified mice to test this theory through a study. The research found that embryonic test subjects, which were administered mainly for maternal genetic chromosomes, developed an improperly larger skull and brain while developing a much smaller body.
Subjects treated with larger amounts of paternal genetic material developed a larger body, but a smaller skull and brain. In addition to this, researchers made other significant observations, like identifying six areas of the brain that contain exclusively either maternal or paternal genes.
The theory that mothers have an asymmetrically large influence on a child’s intelligence is not a new one. In 1984, the University of Cambridge studied both brain development and genomic conditioning. Cambridge scientists ultimately concluded that maternal genetics provide more material to brain centres. Similar discoveries are being made to this day. In a particularly informative study, researchers from a government agency in Scotland followed a group of 12,686 people aged 14 to 22. For a couple of years, the researchers interviewed the subjects and monitored how their intelligence had developed, taking into account their educational and ethnic backgrounds. They categorically concluded that a mother’s IQ was the best indicator of high intelligence.
It is certain that this theory won’t be widely accepted by everyone, even if it is unquestionably proven. There is however one certain fact that can be deduced from all this; and that is mothers tend to have a significant influence on their children’s cognitive capacity. And it is not just because of genetics, either. It also depends of the nutrition and nurture influence a child’s intellectual development throughout life. So, all signs clearly show that our mothers give us brainpower. Thanks, Mom!
-Courtesy: dailyoccupation.com
