Simon Baron-Cohen Quotes

The genetics of autism are real, but there are also environmental triggers.

The position of Autism Speaks has been for quite awhile that we need to find out what's happening. We know there's a genetic component, and there's an environmental trigger, and until we get to the bottom of what's happening, no one knows what causes autism.

What causes autism? As far as we know in 2013, there is no single gene or single environmental factor that accounts for the more than 1 million Americans with ASDs.

Everyone recognises that genes are part of the story but autism isn't 100% genetic. Even if you have identical twins who share all their genes, you can find that one has autism and one doesn't. That means that there must be some non-genetic factors.

I'm not a doctor or scientist. I'm just a mom. But I do think there's a genetic predisposition, and there are environmental triggers. I feel like that combination, in my child's case, is what resulted in autism.

Heritability pertains to the entirety of the genome, not to a single gene.

Many people assume the diseases that kill us are pre-programmed into our genes. High blood pressure by 55, heart attacks at 60, maybe cancer at 70, and so on... But for most of the leading causes of death, our genes usually account for only 10-20 per cent of risk.

Well, it arose out of two long-term concerns - the first being the possibility of genetic manipulation, nature versus nurture, what constitutes how people get to be how they are.

Your genetics load the gun. Your lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Genes can't possibly explain all of what makes us what we are.

But with each passing year and each new study, the evidence for the genetic contribution to individual and group differences becomes more firmly established than ever.

Some genetic variants can be informative about one's risk for Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Anyone that tells you what does or what doesn't cause autism is simply not basing that on facts.

There's enough evidence that variation in sexual orientation is more a function of genes than of environment and for that reason alone, it should be accepted as but another example of human variability.

All illnesses have some heredity contribution. It's been said that genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger.

If your DNA profile puts you at a higher risk of developing obesity, that doesn't mean it's your fate. You can take control of the environmental side of the equation and reduce your overall lifetime risk by a lot.

Genes are not destiny!

The majority of autists - as well as their parents - seem to be genuine victims of environmental stress.

First of all, many human diseases are influenced by, if not caused by mutations in genes.

One of the things about genetics that has become clearer as we've done genomes - as we've worked our way through the evolutionary tree, including humans - is that we're probably much more genetic animals than we want to confess we are.

People think genes are an absolute cause of traits. But the notion that the genome is the blueprint for humanity is a very bad metaphor. If you think we're hard-wired and deterministic, there should indeed be a lot more genes.

If you talk to geneticists they are constantly finding that your genes are being switched on and off because of the environment. Genes alone do not determine an exact path in your life.

I align myself with almost all researchers in assuming that anything we do is a composite of whatever genetic limitations were given to us by our parents and whatever kinds of environmental opportunities are available.

Is there something in my genetic makeup that makes me more at risk for heart disease? I believe there is. My father was the sign.

If a test showed you had telomere shortening, it would be a red flag suggesting you should take a look at possible risk factors.