We inherit genes from our parents like it's a lottery — a game of luck. And we're still learning about genetics, and how to use the science for society.
What should we do about human genetic variants that society considers an "error" or bad for a person's development in life?Image: picture-alliance
"They think genetics means our outcomes are determined and that it doesn't matter what we change about our social environments, our lives will be the same. And that's not true," says Kathryn Paige Harden early in our conversation.
Harden is a professor in psychology and behavior genetics at the University of Texas at Austin.
She believes that we can use genetics to build more "accurate models" of people and how they fit into the world, the societies in which we live, to then shape the world more socially and help everyone get on in life.
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Doing so, she says, would allow science and technology, and our knowledge about life, to benefit everyone rather than just the fortunate few who have the best genes and grow up in the richest, best-served social environments.
'Genetics is not destiny'
Another reason people fear genetics, says Harden, is that it makes people think about who is responsible for change.
"When people hear that educational achievement is 'genetic' or 'influenced by genes,' it's easy to jump to the conclusion that there is nothing that can be done to change it, and if nothing can be done, then I'm off the hook, I'm not responsible," says Harden.
And the argument goes that society isn't responsible either. So, who is? The individual, their parents, or someone else?
"A classic example is eyeglasses. This is from the 1970s economist Arthur Goldberger," says Harden. "How weird would it be if we said, 'Your poor eyesight is genetically influenced, so we as a society are not responsible for making sure you have glasses.' That would be deeply strange."
Sticky misinformation
Who could argue with our learning more about genetics — that is, learning about us as individuals — with a view to helping us all?
Except the field is far less black and white than that. Indeed, it is incredibly vibrant.
That's reflected in Harden's book The Genetic Lottery, in which she builds an argument against "misinformation" and "sticky ideas" that have been "deliberately propagated across generations" in opposition to social change.
Harden drew a rough sketch to explain how the author's life peaks where other people's good genes only just start...Image: DW
"In the 1960s, the psychologist Art Jensen said that we didn't need to bother with the reforms of — what would become — the civil rights movement because, he said, there was no way we could boost the educational achievement of poor or Black children in the US. He tied in the idea of genetics to say, 'Don't bother with social policy because it's useless.'"
Stalinists at Princeton?
Harden's got more than historical arguments in her sights. She also takes on her contemporaries, such as Princeton anthropologist Agustin Fuentes.
"A colleague who's reviewing [Harden's] book told me she had compared me to Stalin," laughs Fuentes when we speak. "The good news is she's not."
But Fuentes says Harden has misrepresented his position over the question of whether, when and how society should intervene to help individuals with genetic variants that might make life hard(er) for them.
What would you want if your child's genetics could be made to order? (This is just an installation at a museum of the future)Image: Daniel Karmann/dpa/picture alliance
It's that question of responsibility again. Do we just blame it all on the mysteries of genetics and throw up our hands, or aim for other routes to equity in society?
Fuentes says there are people who "invoke genetics to take social intervention off the table" and stressed that he's not one of them.
"For society to function effectively, looking at the entirety of human evolution, we know that equity is important in our social success, that's how humans work, and so we have the moral and ethical obligation to make our societies work as best we can. But not to be egalitarian because humans vary, so understanding how we vary, including genetically, is important," he says.
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Your polygenic score
Things get a little more complicated when we talk about the specifics of genetic variation — that's variations in people's genetic sequences that may make them more prone to develop a certain illness or condition, for example, or make them a late riser, slower with numbers (such as this writer!), or pretty on the outside and therefore favored by teachers, as opposed to restless and boisterous in class.
Those variations are measured, "somewhat unintuitively" says Harden, with a method known as the polygenic index.
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Harden wants researchers to identify relatively small percentages of genetic variation and use them as a springboard to social change and better government policy.
"It's very coarse and very crude but when you add them all up, you end up with a DNA-based variable, a number that we get entirely from your genetics that is strongly correlated with these important life outcomes, such as whether you graduate from college. It's both powerful and messy at the same time," says Harden.
Fuentes argues, however, that if we prioritize genetic variations that we know are unconnected to the vast majority of reasons why people have different outcomes in life, then we are intentionally sidelining all the things we can actually do or change.
"My biggest critique is that polygenic scores and genome-wide association surveys show us patterned correlations between genetic variances and certain outcomes. And for most of the things we're interested in, like cognition, schooling, economic or health outcomes, even though we can identify, say, 138 sequences that may correlate with some sort of intelligence or cognitive outcome, they explain almost nothing, maybe 4%, about the variance itself," Fuentes says.
So, we know it's there, but we don't know why or what we can do about it.
"Whereas things like nutrition during development, or quality of schooling, or whether or not the individual is exposed to discriminatory stressors — that we do know," he says. "We can document how those things shape people's outcomes, and those are areas where we can do targeted engagement."
So, who is responsible?
Genetic responsibility, as it's known, is still a sticky issue.
"Parents are not really responsible for the genetic limitations of their children," says John Evans, author of The Human Gene Editing Debate, "unless they knew they both had sickle cell disease and decided to have a baby anyway."
But he says that the "spread of gene editing makes parents more responsible for the qualities of their children because you COULD have changed X, Y and Z, with Z being some fairly mild effect such as needing glasses, for instance."
Changing an environment, he continues, may produce less fear in people because we think that environments can be changed back if the changes fail.
But having special schools for children identified or labelled as genetically "slow learners" could lead to social stigmas, Evans says.
"With all the attention on genes, teaching people that individual genetics does impact life," he says. "The pressure will be on you to make sure that your child has been genetically modified so that they go to school X and not school Y — that is, the one for the 'slow learners.'"
Whether or not such genetic modification will be possible, allowed or accessible to the broader public, Evans says such social divisions exist already.
"It's in the interest of the rich to make sure that not everyone has access to gene editing so that their edits retain their social advantage," says Evans. "This, of course, already happens in the US, with Harvard graduates marrying other Harvard graduates."
From the fingerprint to biometric data
125 years ago an Argentinian criminologist systematically took fingerprints of prisoners. Today there is a wealth of biometric information which police officers can collect: DNA, sounds, pictures and data.
Image: arfo - Fotolia.com
A standard in modern forensics for 125 years
In 1891, a Croatian born, Argentine criminologist, Juan Vucetich, started building up the first modern-style fingerprint archive. Since then, fingerprints have become one of the main forms of evidence used to convict criminals. Here, a police officer spreads dust on the lock of a burglarized apartment. Fingerprints become visible.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Archiving and comparing prints
He uses an adhesive film to capture the fingerprint. Then he glues it to a piece of paper. In the past, comparing fingerprints was a painstaking affair. Officers had to compare fingerprints found at the scene of a crime, one-by-one, with those of possible suspects. These days computers do the job.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
No more ink
Taking fingerprints used to be a messy affair - with ink and dirty hands. These days scanners have replaced the inky mess. And the data can immediately be sent to a database and turned into biometrical data.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/P. Endig
Fingerprints form an identity
The computer identifies typical spots within the ridge patterns of the fingerprint. These include forks in the lines, spots and the location of the center of the print. Fingerprints are never the same between two people - not even with identical twins.
Image: itestro/Fotolia.com
Vote early and vote often!
No chance! Here, officials use fingerprint scanners during an election in Nigeria. It's how they make sure the people voting are registered voters and that they only vote once.
Image: APC Presidential Campaign Organisation
Who entered Europe where?
This is an important question for officials who have to decide about the refugee or asylum status of applicants. In the European Union all migrants are supposed to have their fingerprints taken at the first point of entry - provided, of course, the local police officers are equipped with the scanners.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Weigel
Hands off! It's my data!
Many smartphones now come with fingerprint recognition software, such as the iPhone's Touch-ID. The owner of the phone unlocks it with his fingerprint. If someone else finds or steals the phone, they have no way of getting at any encrypted data within.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa Themendienst
Secure ATM banking
This is an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in the Scottish town of Dundee. Customers wanting to withdraw money need to show biometric proof of identity - in the form of a fingerprint. Not good news for pickpockets.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fingerprint inside the passport
Since 2005, German passports, and many other passports, contain a digital fingerprint as part of the biometric information stored on a RFID (radio-frequency controlled ID) chip. Other information on the chip includes a biometric passport photo. The facial image is similar to fingerprints: no two images are alike.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Grimm
When computers recognize faces
Facial recognition software, which uses biometrics, is well advanced. It is possible to identify suspects within large crowds, with surveillance cameras. Also internet services and private computer owners are increasingly making use of facial recognition software to sort holiday pictures and tagging them to names.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The inventor of the genetic fingerprint
Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA-fingerprinting almost accidentally in 1984 during research at the University of Leicester. He identified a specific pattern on DNA segments, which were different for every human. He created a picture, which looks like a barcode at the supermarket.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A barcode for every human
Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) started storing such barcodes in a federal database in 1998. Investigators have since solved more than 18,000 crimes, using genetic fingerprints.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Clearing the innocent
It's not just criminals who get identified. Many innocent people can be cleared of criminal charges through good identification. For some, technology has saved their lives. Kirk Bloodsworth spent almost nine years on death row. The US Innocence Project has proved the false incarceration of more than 100 people using DNA evidence.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Clarity for victims' families
The first big test for DNA-fingerprinting came with the mass murder of Srebrenica. Bodies, exhumed from mass graves, were systematically identified using DNA techniques. They were then reburied by their loved ones. Here, five year old Ema Hasanovic pays last respects to her uncle. More than 6,000 victims of the massacre - mostly men - were identified using DNA-fingerprinting.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Emric
Biometric data on your phone and computer
You may be surprised, but there's biometric information in sounds and other digital data. Voice recognition software can, for instance, identify people making threatening phone calls - the human voice is also unique. And don't forget: we leave all kinds of digital traces on the internet, which hold clues to who we really are.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Warmuth (
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So, a gene-edited future is conceivable. That does not mean that research into genetics need stop, however. Perhaps it's more a case of pooling all ideas and finding a practical and more inclusive consensus.
Harden says there is a "a massive problem" at the heart of current research into "what causes what in children's lives" and that problem is that research is based on the idea that kids only get environments from their families, and nothing genetic.
"That really undermines our ability to build accurate models of the world. I'm not saying that environments don't matter — they do matter for kids," says Harden. "But the science of figuring out which of the environments matter, which environments are going to be the most effective leverages of change, is a very hard scientific problem."
And one of the main reasons it's hard, she says, is that we all differ genetically.
Like father, like son: Football in the genes
Several players who've made it to the Bundesliga have been sons of professional footballers. Some would go on to have even more successful careers than their fathers while others would forever toil in their shadows.
Image: Reuters/M. Meissner
Sebastian Hoeness
The son of 1970s and '80s Bayern Munich star Dieter Hoeness holds up his award after being named coach of the year for leading Bayern's reserves to the third-division title earlier this year. The championship helped convince Bundesliga side Hoffenheim to hire him as their new coach. Unlike his father or Uncle Uli, Sebastian never made it to the Bundesliga as a player.
Image: Imago Images/Kleer/J. Huebner
Giovanni Reyna
With this goal against Werder Bremen in February 2020, 17-year-old Giovanni Reyna became the youngest goal scorer in German Cup history. Father Claudio played for several teams in Europe, including Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Both of Giovanni's parents were US national team players, with Claudio making 112 appearances for the men's team and Danielle Egan making six for the women.
Image: picture-alliance/D. Ewert
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has taken the Bundesliga by storm since joining Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in the January transfer window. The 19-year-old Norwegian set a league record by scoring seven goals in his first three games. His father didn't play in the Bundesliga but defender and midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland did spend several seasons in the Premier League and won 34 caps for Norway.
Image: imago images/Revierfoto
Leroy Sane
Bayern Munich recently confirmed what had long been expected, announcing the signing of Leroy Sane. The 24-year-old Sane came up through Schalke's youth system and graduated to the first team before moving to Manchester City in 2016. Decades earlier, his father, Sengal striker Souleyman Sane, was one of the Bundesliga's first African players, spending most of his time at Wattenscheid 09.
Image: Reuters/L. Smith
Oliver Kahn
Long one of the world's top goalkeepers, Oliver Kahn joined Bayern Munich's board this year and is to succeed Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as CEO in 2022. Kahn had a stellar career between the sticks for both Bayern and Germany. Less well-known is the fact that his father Rolf also played in the Bundesliga, as a striker for Karlsruhe in the early 1960s.
Image: Bongarts/Getty Images/R. Orlowski
Stephan Beckenbauer
Limited to just 12 Bundesliga matches with Saarbrücken in 1992-93, Stephan went on to coach in Bayern Munich's youth system. In 2015 he died of a brain tumor at just 46. As for his father, Franz, there is little he didn't achieve in German and international football. However, his reputation has been tainted by allegations of fraud related to Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
Florian Hübner (left) helped Union Berlin avoid the drop in their first-ever season in the Bundesliga, while older brother Benjamin's Hoffenheim claimed sixth place in the coronavirus-interupted campaign. Father Bruno, who made 76 Bundesliga appearances for Kaiserslautern in the 1980s, is now sporting director at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Image: Imago Images/M. Koch
Philipp Max
Philipp Max (right) currently plays for Augsburg, having made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke in the Revier derby against Dortmund in the spring of 2014. His father, Martin Max, also had a spell at Schalke, where he was part of the "Eurofighters" team that won the UEFA Cup in 1997. Max later went on to play for 1860 Munich and was the Bundesliga's top scorer in 2000 and 2002.
Image: Imago/Eibner
Cha Du-ri
The South Korean international (left) had a long career with several stops in Germany, including two of his father's old clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. The father, Cha Bum-Kun is a Bundesliga legend, having led Frankfurt in scoring in three consecutive seasons in the early 1980s and winning both the German Cup and the UEFA Cup. In Leverkusen he added a second UEFA Cup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Leonardo Bittencourt
The 26-year-old midfielder came through Energie Cottbus's youth system, before moving on to Dortmund, Hannover and Cologne. He's currently at Bremen, having joined from Hoffenheim after a loan spell. Father Franklin, a striker from Brazil, also played in the Bundesliga, making 22 appearances for VfB Leipzig and 39 for Energie Cottbus. Leonardo has represented Germany at several youth levels.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Palko Dardai
Palko Dardai, who is on the books of Hertha Berlin, is not nearly as well-known as his father, Pal Dardai, a midfielder who made 297 appearances for the club between 1997 and 2011. Pal also worked at the club as a youth and spent a number of years as coach of the Bundesliga side. Still only 21, Palko has made just nine league appearances for Hertha to date.
At 35, Daniel Baier is now winding down his playing career at Augsburg, but he's made well over 200 appearances in the Bundesliga, many more than his father, Jürgen, who had just 31 games in the top flight. Jürgen did have a good career in the second division, though, making 329 appearances, mostly for Darmstadt and Kickers Offenbach.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Philipp Bargfrede
The 30-year-old midfielder (second from left) continues to ply his trade at Werder Bremen and under his last contract extension, in 2018, is meant to remain at the club after his playing days are over. Father Hans-Jürgen Bargfrede played more than 200 games for St. Pauli, though just 15 of them were in the top flight. He's currently involved in the second-divison club's youth system.
