A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry shows that DNA alone can predict the academic achievement of an individual.
Scientists from King's College London have used a new genetic scoring technique that will determine or predict academic achievement of a person and is by far the strongest prediction from DNA of a behavioral measure to date.
According to Futurism, a genetic score made up of 20,000 different DNA can explain almost 10 percent of the differences between the educational attainment at the age of 16 which means that DNA is much more effective in predicting this than predicting gender or a personality trait.
This study then is very useful when it comes to identifying children who are more likely to have difficulties when it comes to learning. It also contradicts a previous one, according to Big Think, which says that 60 percent of a person's academic achievement can be attributed to his genetic makeup.
In this latest research, the researchers developed a new method called polygenic scoring which examines the interaction between genes and determines the differences between genetic influences and common variance. The researchers concluded that genetic variations accounted for different levels of academic achievement among children.
Saskia Selzam, the author of the study said that soon enough, polygenic scores will be used to identify individuals who are at greater risk of having learning difficulties. The value of polygenic scores is that they allow estimation of genetic effects for academic achievement based on a person's DNA.
Their finding show that what makes each and every single student achieve differently in their educational achievement is greatly influenced by their DNA differences. Professor Robert Plomin, senior author of the study, added that they are now at a tipping point where they can predict a person's educational strengths and weaknesses from their DNA.
