It's another version of down syndrome.


Researchers Find the 'Liberal Gene'

Published October 28, 2010
| FoxNews.com

Don't hold liberals responsible for their opinion –– they can't help themselves.

A new study has concluded that ideology is not just a social thing, it's built into the DNA, borne along by a gene called DRD4. Tagged "the liberal gene," DRD4 is the first specific bit of human DNA that predisposes people to certain political views, the study's authors claim.

"We hypothesize that individuals with a genetic predisposition toward seeking out new experiences will tend to be more liberal, but only if they are embedded in a social context that provides them with multiple points of view," wrote lead researcher James H. Fowler –– a professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, San Diego.

The paper, which appears in the latest edition of The Journal of Politics, focused on 2,000 subjects from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. By matching genetic information with maps of each individual's social network, the researchers were able to show that people with a specific variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults –– although only if they had an active adolescent social life.

The research, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, focused on dopamine –– a neurotransmitter that affects a wide variety of brain processes including control over movement, emotions, and ability to experience pleasure and pain. Previous research identified connections between a variant of this gene and novelty-seeking behavior, a personality trait that numerous studies have shown is linked to political liberalism, the authors say.


So if a liberal ideology is genetic, or at least partly genetic, does that mean it runs in the family –– and can be passed on to your kids? The authors think so.

"In fact, psychologists have asserted for many years that social conservatism is heritable," the paper notes, adding that "genetic factors account for a significant proportion of variation in social attitudes."

Fowler and colleagues Jaime E. Settle and Christoper T. Dawkes, also of UC San Diego, and Harvard University's Nicholas A. Christakis.  hypothesized that people with the novelty-seeking gene variant would be more interested in learning about their friends' points of view. As a consequence, people with this genetic predisposition who have a greater-than-average number of friends would be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which might make them more liberal than average, they deduced.

The researchers reported that "it is the crucial interaction of two factors –– the genetic predisposition and the environmental condition of having many friends in adolescence –– that is associated with being more liberal."

The research team also showed that this held true independent of ethnicity, culture, sex or age.

Fowler concludes that the social and institutional environment cannot entirely explain a person's political attitudes and beliefs and that the role of genes must be taken into account. "These findings suggest that political affiliation is not based solely on the kind of social environment people experience," said Fowler, professor of political science and medical genetics at UC San Diego.

"It is our hope that more scholars will begin to explore the potential interaction of biology and environment," he said. "The way forward is to look for replication in different populations and age groups."

So its not a mental disorder????

BS it's cover for the Gay Gene myth ... (DupeBTW)

I'm starting to rethink this whole abortion thing.  Can they test for this defect in the womb?

Whenever someone comes to me with science that is supportive of my positions, I look at it twice as hard and with three times the skepticism as that which refutes me.

Gay Gene or Liberal Gene or it doesen't matter ?

So being liberal is determined by how many friends you have as a kid? .......

So....loners and shut ins and antisocial people who have shitty childhoods would tend to be Republican?  Is that what your telling me?

Explains quite a bit...but it must skip a generation cause my father is ultra liberal (yet very conservative) and my three brothers and I for repulicans.

So liberalism, like diarrhea runs in your genes?