Evidence – Page 298 – Footnote 102
In his book Taboo: “Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and
Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It, journalist Jon Entine insists that today’s
phenomenal black athletes-Jamaican sprinters, Kenyan marathoners, African
American basketball players, etc. – are propelled by “higher performance genes
inherited from their West and East African ancestors. With Shenks’ GxE
argument in mind, to what extent do you find the previous statement to be true?
How much do genes impact athletic performance and on the other hand how much
relies on practice and expression of those genes? Can a white man really achieve
a vertical as high as that of Michael Jordan or run as fast as Usain Bolt, or is the output of extraordinary amounts of hard-work ultimately limited by genetics? Give
examples of genes that may affect the performance of certain body parts relating
to athletic ability and how they limit or show athletic potential. Relate your response to Gene Expression and and any related subjects that we've studied.
Bowen Jin
bowenjin2004@yahoo.com
Bowen Jin
bowenjin2004@yahoo.com
I believe that there does not exist a gene that codes for athletic ability. I believe that a variety of factors are inherited that lead to athletic ability and that these factors can be influenced based on the environment like which is Shenk’s main point. However, there is evidence that gene expression can depend based on different environmental factors evolving different genes which Shenk provides in his book. This is demonstrated on page 102-103 when he describes factors in a Kenyan tribe that would create the environmental stressors to create change in the gene expression.
ReplyDeleteThe Kenyan village of Kalenjin tribe is heavily dependent on the one skill of long-distant running. Cattle raiding in the village determined how many wives a young man could eventually afford and the longer and faster you could run the more cattle you could herd. It boils down to survival and reproduction, which is why running faster and for longer distance is a selective advantage amongst this tribe of Kenyans. Another relation to the cardiovascular unit, is that with so much running that exists in the village the heart muscle becomes stronger and is more adapted to running longer distances. The life of a Kalenjin revolves around running: they run to the river to take a shower, run back home to change, run to school, run back from school. All this running is helping to make their hearts stronger and more adapted to running long distances which shows why the Kalenjin tribe has many long-distance runner athletes competing internationally.
In terms of gene regulation that could actually affect muscle development, there is a well known gene known as myostatin. Mice that lack this gene have double the normal amount of muscle mass than mice that have this gene. Another thing that changes gene expression in terms of athletics is through training. One scientific journal abstract stated that the usage of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs alters epigenetic mechanisms in metabolism mainly by ways of DNA methylation and histone modification. Although this is not true for some professional athletes, it might be evidence that some usage of pharmaceutical products that help with training can benefit gene expression for athletics.
kevin.liuxu@gmail.com
(Kevin Xu)
After reading The Genius in All of Us, I disagree with Jon Entine’s statement that black athletes are influenced by “higher performance genes” (298) inherited from their West and East African Ancestors. First of all, the very first humans originated from Africa. Because of evolution, we all have the same genomes, but what makes us different from one another is our gene expression. Because we all have the same genetic makeup, this idea of blacks having higher performance genes is not true. Our genetic makeup is the same because the genetic makeup of our ancestors enabled them to survive long enough to reproduce in order pass their genes to us because their genes enabled them to overcome the environment. Blacks may have a gene that is turned on that enhances athletic ability, but the reason for this gene to be turned on is due to environmental factors.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, “a typical human cell probably expresses about 20% of its genes at any given time.”(Campbell 356) In the case of the Kenyan runners, they are great long distance runners because their environment encourages them to run. In the Kalenjin tribe, males needed to raise cattle to trade for wives. The mindset was the farther and faster you can run, the more cows you can raise, which will increase the amount of wives the person had. Compelled by the motivation to pass one’s genes on, males of the Kalenjin tribe were very good runners. In order for the body to deal with the environment around them, certain genes were probably turned on or off to help people run long distances. Plus, after running for long periods of time, Kenyan runners develop hearts and muscles that have the endurance for long distance running. In the case of Keino, he grew up running in order to get what he wanted. As a boy he wanted to go to school, but he had to run miles to prepare himself for school and to get to school. Because the environment around him encouraged all this running, he became a great runner as he tried to speed up his running to accomplish more tasks each day. Due to this way of life, the environment causes certain genes to be turned on or off to assist the individual in everyday life.
Because I believe there is no secret gene that one group of people has to make them superior to others, I believe practice does help one to become great at sports. Because practice is a part of the environment around you and the environment influences which genes are turned on, I believe that anyone can become great if they have mindset for excellence and they are in the environment they want to be in during a kid’s critical period. The critical period is a time when an individual can learn particular things like a language or a skill so that it is embedded into minds. In the case of the Kenyan runners, as they practice more and more, (run) their hearts get stronger by pumping blood really quickly to make sure their muscles have the oxygen and nutrients they need to sustain long distance running. There are genes for a protein called follistatin which can dramatically increase muscle growth. This gene needs to be introduced into the body because it is not natural to humans. But, this gene would increase athleticism in humans because it promotes unnatural muscle growth.
ReplyDeletehttp://quest.mda.org/news/follistatin-genes-strengthen-muscles-monkeys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period
Eric Duresa (eduresa11@gmail.com)