Phil HarrisDec 9, 20212 min3 Factors Predict Mental IllnessThe causes of psychiatric disorders are poorly understood. Now, in work led by researchers at McGill University, there is evidence that a...
Phil HarrisJun 23, 20213 minNight Owl or Lark? Personality Traits Predict Sleep PatternsThe link between the different hierarchies of personality, sleep patterns and even genetics has been discovered by researchers from the...
Phil HarrisApr 27, 202017 minPersonality Part I: The Research BaseI recently watched the Netflix documentary “Three Identical Strangers.” Without too much of a spoiler alert, triplets who were separated...
Phil HarrisSep 2, 20192 minNew Insights into Psychopathic BehaviorThe expression of many genes that have previously been associated with autism is abnormal also in violent psychopathy, a new study shows....
Phil HarrisJul 30, 20193 minTrauma: Are We Genetically Sensitive?Researchers from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University School of Medicine, the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and the...
Phil HarrisApr 8, 20192 minPoverty Written into Your Genes?A new Northwestern University study challenges prevailing understandings of genes as immutable features of biology that are fixed at...
Phil HarrisJan 30, 20192 minBabies Detect Individual Words at 3 Days OldBabies are not blank slates. They come with a lot of pre-programming that is awaiting activation. A great example of this is language. ...
Phil HarrisDec 2, 20184 minADHD Gene BreakthroughA major international collaboration headed by researchers from the Danish iPSYCH project, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT,...
Phil HarrisOct 19, 20183 minUniversity Attendance Predicted by GenesResearch from King's College London has shown for the first time that genetics plays a significant role in whether young adults choose to...
Phil HarrisOct 15, 20184 minGene-Parent Interactions Predict AggressionIn lectures on child development I stress the role of gene-parent interactions in shaping a child's behavior. This is an interesting...
Phil HarrisOct 15, 20183 minAgreeable People in BusinessIn lectures I often reference the differences in inherited personality traits have on human development. Agreeableness is an interesting...
Phil HarrisSep 27, 20184 minIs Addiction a Virus?New research from an international team led by Oxford University's Department of Zoology and the National-Kapodistrian University of...
Phil HarrisJul 19, 20185 minWhat the Fruit Fly Tells Us About Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll.Nothing cheers me up as much as a quirky research study on the humble fruit fly. We share approximately 65 per cent of our DNA with...
Phil HarrisJul 4, 20186 minAutism: New InsightsWhilst autism is not really my area, I am often asked about elements of the disorder. So I thought I would share some of the latest...
Phil HarrisJun 27, 20183 minEpigenetics: Major Data Error IdentifiedIn lectures and training I always emphasis that genetic expressions are not fixed but change over time. Epigenetics is the study of how...
Phil HarrisJun 22, 20182 minImportant Break Through in Understanding Alcohol and Genetics?I have always been skeptical of primary genetic addiction models. The idea that disorders such as alcoholism was driven by gene actions...
Phil HarrisFeb 18, 20181 minAge Deviancy: Mechanism for Age Related Behavior DiscoveredIn lectures on the life course I often discuss two central issues about aging. Firstly is the concept of age deviancy. This is the...
Phil HarrisJan 11, 20181 minWomen: Born SurvivorsIn lectures on human development it always causes a stir when I point out that men are not only genetically weaker than women but are...
Phil HarrisJan 8, 20184 minPre-Lived Futures: The Evidence is In?In training and adolescent development I often refer to the emotional brains inability to see the future. As a result, the more distant...
Phil HarrisJan 2, 20182 minAggression in Childhood: Genes Influenced by EnvironmentIn a new Canadian study, researchers from the Université de Montréal set out to investigate the genetic and environmental factors in...