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Class and epigenetics

Posted by diemond on 24 Dec 2013 at 16:44 GMT

By the logic of the article the more similar the environment the stronger the expression of genetic possibility. You don't cite data on social class or income but one might assume that the averages you show may both understate and overstate genetic impact. I would speculate that the environments of the best off quintile are far more similar than the environments of the bottom quintile. One might suppose that in consequence the genetic impact would be greater for the well off children and less for the poor. There are two other concerns with your conclusions. James J. Heckman has suggested a very sharp gradient in returns to investment in children. One could assume that the investment in maternal health and very early childhood will have a much greater return than schooling and that this gradient is affected by class and income. Finally a recent mouse study indicates the possibility that fear of a smell can be written into genes. The implication of this if replicable in mice and people would broaden Heckman's conclusions and would lead to somewhat different conclusions for your work.

No competing interests declared.