Heredity Theory Says in Males, Intelligence

Comes From Mom

By
Elyse Tanouye Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Updated June 28, 1996 12:01 a.m. ET
Sorry, Dad. You may be responsible for your son's big nose, but all the credit for the kid's genius
goes to Mom.
That, at least, is the latest thinking in genetics laboratories. Boys inherit their intelligence from
their mothers, according to Gillian Turner, an Australian geneticist. She cites growing evidence
that several genes for intelligence are located on the X chromosome, which men inherit only
from their mothers (along with a tiny Y from their fathers). Women, in contrast, receive an X
chromosome from each parent so they can theoretically inherit their father's intelligence.
Some very smart men do, in fact, give their mothers considerable credit. William A. Haseltine,
chairman of Human Genome Sciences Inc. and a former professor at Harvard Medical School,
attests to the brilliance of both of his parents, but he traces his creativity -- "a very important trait
in science" -- to his mother, Jean Ellsberg Haseltine, who was accomplished in languages,
literature and painting.
Albert J. Dunlap, a turnaround expert and former head of Scott Paper Co., says his mother, who
didn't graduate from high school, was "inherently very smart." She helped him learn to organize
his life, set goals and pay attention to financial details. "Many traits I've been credited with can
be traced back to her," he says.
The gene theory would explain a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists for years: Men and
women tend to have the same mean IQ scores, but there are more males who are either geniuses
or mentally retarded. Dr. Turner argues in this week's issue of the medical journal the Lancet that
because a man has only one X chromosome, he will experience the full effect of the intelligence
genes that produce either high IQ or mental handicaps. In women, the effect of a gene on one X
chromosome may be diluted by the matching gene on the other.
But genes tell only half the story, says Abbie Salny, the supervisory psychologist for American
Mensa Ltd., an organization for people with high IQs. A person with innate intelligence may
need a nurturing environment for intelligence to fully develop, she says.
Nevertheless, Dr. Turner suggests, a man should ignore the "primitive urges in mate selection"
that target sexual attractiveness, and remember that his future sons' intelligence will be
determined by the intelligence of the mate he picks.