Essay Sample on Genetics in Action

Introduction

The study was conducted by Abby Olena, November 6, 2018. Olena in the study Olena indicates that the longevity that is experienced in some families is as a result of choosing partners who have similar characters. Estimates predict that 15 to 30 percent of the lifespan of a human being can be attributed to their genetics. The study, therefore, indicates that assortative mating accounts for heritability. According to the co-author, the role of calico life sciences which conducts studies on aging is to explain the role of genetics in the lifespan of any phenotype. Study of lifespan in America has also been conducted on plants and unusually specific tree species.

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Pedigrees are very important in calculating the extent of similarity in the lifespan within a family and compare it with the entire population. The estimates became consistent and gave the approximates of 20 to 30 percent longevity which can only be as a result of genetics. The research team also found out that there was a significant correlation in the lifespan of spouses that had become greater than that of the siblings of the opposite gender. The study came to conclude that the similarities that occur in the length of their lifespan between the spouses can be as a result of sharing their living conditions in their adulthood, assortative mating or even both. These were some of the factors that scientists conducting this study suspected could be leading to a longer lifespan in some couples than in others. The results were reliable, but there remains many unanswered questions or proofs that should be beyond any reasonable doubts to support their findings.

The article mainly dealt with the phenotype of human beings and the reasons why some individuals have a longer lifespan than others. The genetics involved in this study are molecular. The test subjects in the article are couples and their in-laws too. The study figured out that spending too much time together and assertive mating can lead to the exchange of genetic material that can increase lifespan, but in isolated cases as it does not happen to all couples. The research was conducted in the United States on identified married people as well as specific tree samples with the intentions of helping the scientists understand the mystery behind lifespans in humans and other species too.

The short-term benefits of this research are that it would create a basis for conducting other related studies. A path has been created, and this study will be a point of reference when planning for additional studies. The research is not entirely reliable since an agreeable decision or findings have not been made as it wife some individuals and species have a longer lifespan than others. The long-term benefits of the study are that a basis has now been created. The knowledge from this research will be the cornerstone for future studies. Since curiosity has already been established the scientists and specialists will devise many similar studies in the field of genetics with the intentions of finding the relationship between individual human behavior as well as their genetic composition which gives them more extended life than the rest of the population. Many other steps can be undertaken in the future, but at the moment it may prove challenging to know. However, scientists have something to show, and more studies will be conducted in the future.

Works Cited

Olena, Abby. "Lifespan Less Heritable than Previously Thought." Recent Articles | Air Pollution | The Scientist Magazine, The Scientist Magazine, 6 Nov. 2018, www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/lifespan-less-heritable-than-previously-thought-65043. Accessed 15 Nov. 2018.