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Are academic traits
genetic?
Yes. Unpopular as this is, the evidence
has always shown high heritability of
IQ, and IQ scores are closely correlated
with academic performance, as well as
occupation, health and income. One
powerful method compares the abilities
of identical and non-identical twins reared
together or separately. The most recent
conclusion from numerous such studies is
that the heritability of intelligence rises from
about 20 per cent in infancy to as much
as 80 per cent in adulthood. This means
that the majority of IQ differences between
adults can be attributed to inheritance.
This effect may also be increased by
‘assortative mating’: the tendency of men
and women to choose partners who are
similar to themselves. Correlations between
married couples are greater for intelligence
than they are even for personality or
height and weight, an effect that increases
heritability. Clearly, upbringing, education,
friends, health and many other factors
influence academic success but genes play
a very large part. SBWhich vitamin could
you live the longest
without?
Vitamin E. Adults only need 15mg a day
and you’d get that from three tablespoons
of sunflower or rapeseed oil, as well as
lots of other common foods. The only
people who normally suffer from vitamin E
deficiency are those with another disorder,
such as cystic fibrosis, that interferes with
its absorption. Vitamin E is an antioxidant
that protects your nerves and retinas from
damage caused by free radicals. But even
people born with a genetic disorder that
prevents them from using vitamin E don’t
develop symptoms for at least the first four
years. Although the disorder can cause
blindness and muscle weakness, it isn’t
normally fatal. LVThank your parents
for your high IQIn China, around 90 per cent of young
people are now affected with short-
sightedness – a six-fold increase since the
1950s. In Seoul, 96.5 per cent of 19-year-
old men are affected. The problem is
also spreading worldwide. The cause is
hotly debated, but attention is focusing
on the lifestyle of 21st-Century children- specifically, getting too little exposure
to daylight, which seems to influence eye
development. RM
Perhaps the most spectacular technique
was perfected by Prof Lene Hau and
colleagues at Harvard University. In 2007
they trapped light inside a cloud of ultra-
cold sodium atoms, turned it into a pulse of
atoms and then reversed the process – the
light reappearing and moving off from its
new location. RMWhy is there an
epidemic of short-
sightedness in Asia?
Is it possible to trap light?
Light pulse (yellow)
being extinguished by
ultra-cold atoms (purple)
PHOTO: NASA X2, CORBIS, ALAMY X2, GETTY, SHAUN R GARNER