Tag: genetics

Criminal Genes: Guilty as Charged?

Swedish scientists claim that some people may be born with genes that make them extremely cruel. According to the new study, the extremely aggressive behavior of criminals is determined by genetics. Genetic influence on criminal behavior Serial killers and other criminals who have repeatedly committed serious crimes (robbery, grievous bodily harm) may have been “programmed” to cripple others. A study published in the scientific journal “Molecular Psychiatry” sheds light on why most of the violent crimes are usually committed by the same person (“maniac”, “serial killer”) or a very small group of offenders, and most often men.

Sir David Hopwood – ‘designer’ of antibiotics

Gabriele Butkute, events and administrative assistant at the Society of Biology, writes about Sir David Hopwood, a scientist featured in the Biology: Changing the World top ten poll. Professor Sir David Hopwood, a British geneticist and microbiologist, carried out fundamental research into the genetics of the soil bacteria Streptomyces, an organism which gives rise to half the world’s antibiotics in use today. Ever since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have been one of the most widely used groups of drugs, and this has led to increasing antibiotic resistance. After graduating in botany from St John’s College, Cambridge in 1954, Hopwood chose to do a PhD in the Botany School at Cambridge in the field of microbial genetics, focusing on a group of soil bacteria called Streptomyces. This group of bacteria were known to be a very promising source of antibiotics as they had already been shown…

Behavioural Genetics: who are you?

Dr Claire Hastings introduces the field of Behavioural Genetics ahead of the Royal Institution debate entitled: “The good, the bad, and the genetically predetermined” on the 15th October, during Biology Week 2013. Your genome contains all the instructions for building you. This includes genes that affect your behaviour: from learning and memory, eating and sleeping or mating behaviour and personality. Within the human population there is variation in these genes, resulting in the behavioural differences we observe in each other. Genes that affect behaviour are a huge part of what makes you, you. They often provide you with more of a sense of self than the genes involved in your physical appearance such as height or eye colour. So who are you? Are you the simply sum total of your genetic material? Is your behaviour predetermined by your genes? Or is there more to it? Scientists have been working to answer these questions for…