In a country with golden sand dunes by the sea, each year saw more murders committed than the year before. Neuroscientists had proven that the murderer’s brain made him commit the murder. The judges were stuck. How could they solve this problem?
The new crystal ball: predicting future disease
Disease can be seen as the antechamber of death.
Are there reliable tests for predicting disease? The short answer is: not for Alzheimer’s or other common diseases. Tests do exist for some specific diseases, most with known familial predispositions, such as Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne’s dystrophy and many more.
Nature and nurture: congenital and acquired
Is it Nature or Nurture, congenital or acquired? The answer is actually quite simple: everything is Nature and Nurture. The structure of the brain determines what we can learn and what we learn determines the structure of the brain.
Autism is hereditary, but you don’t inherit autism
The probability of having autism is greater for an individual if it runs in their family. This suggests hereditary factors. But what do you actually inherit? What you inherit is a predisposition for a specific development of your brain. This, together with what you experience while growing up, can lead to the development of a mild to severe form of autism.