While it is well known that humans mate assortatively in relation to education – people with similar education levels marry each other – the study, co-led by Dr David Hugh-Jones, from the University of East Anglia’s school of economics, is one of the first studies to show that this has significance at a DNA level.
The researchers argue that this could increase genetic and social inequality in future generations, since children of couples who mate assortatively are more unequal genetically than those of people who mate more randomly.
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Dr. Hugh-Jones, a senior lecturer in economics, said: “Our findings show strong evidence for the presence of genetic assortative mating for education in the UK.”
“The consequences of assortative mating on education and cognitive abilities are relevant for society, and for the genetic make-up and therefore the evolutionary development of subsequent generations. Assortative mating on inheritable traits that are indicative of socio-economic status, such as educational achievement, increases the genetic variance of characteristics in the population,” [Hugh-Jones stated.]
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