Studies on these topics have been around for a long time but the rise of the Eugenics movement in the late 20th century and the horrible practices it led to in the U.S and Europe led to the field of behavioral genetics suffering greatly after the Second World War. The field tries to understand the genetics behind various behavioral traits which include psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and psychological measures such as the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

It is important, however to analyze and try to understand why we know so less and yet seem to believe that we know a lot about the fascinating world of genetics.Ī field that has gained in prominence over the last three decades has been the interdisciplinary field of Behavioral Genetics – the intersection of psychology and genetics. Let that rather gloomy picture not discredit the extraordinary advancements that have been made in the short span of the last 3-4 decades, and especially in the last two decades with the tremendous innovations in the high-performance computing space. It has almost been 15 years since the project was declared a success (the complete human genome was sequenced) but how much have we learned about the genome itself to be able to address a gene’s many effects and perhaps, to be able to accurately predict one’s future based on his/her genotype (genetic constitution) and the environment he/she lives in? The answer is VERY LITTLE.

Nearly every major scientist (and politician) thought this would be the moment when the human race would finally unravel the secrets behind everything to do with looks, intelligence, physique, diseases etc. Why does this field elicit so much interest, controversy, excitement and yet does not quite seem to usher in the advancements at the pace we have come about to expect from most fields in science given the computational power and the wealth of understanding at our disposal? The sequencing of the human genome was a hallmark in the history of the field of genetics. For a while now, newspapers and websites have been carrying at least one article every day on how a new gene has been discovered, how we might have potentially found a ‘cure’ for cancer or AIDS, why genetics is transforming medicine and healthcare, and that we perhaps inherit our intelligence from our mothers.

Thevaram maraiyudai