Scientists have revealed who a child actually inherits intelligence from

Which of the parents is "responsible" for the gender of the newborn seems to be more or less understood. The gender of the newborn depends on the father, since only male sperm contain the Y-chromosome. Women do not have such a chromosome, so they cannot influence the gender of the child. But when it comes to mental abilities, the mother plays a greater role.

Researchers have found that 40 to 60 percent of intelligence is inherited, and in this process, the mother's contribution is more significant. The remaining part of mental abilities is formed under the influence of the environment in which the child grows up.

The X-chromosome, which is responsible for the female gender, carries the intellectual gene. Dad's X-chromosome does too, but its gene is deactivated: only the one that comes from mom works. Experiments on mice helped to figure this out.

It turned out that if a mouse receives a double dose of maternal intellectual genes, it is born with a small body but a large brain. But if there are twice as many paternal genes, the brain will be small and the body will be large.

Paternal genes influence sexual behavior, tendency toward aggression, and food preferences. At the same time, genes inherited from the mother are largely responsible for the development of cognitive functions, including thinking, analytical abilities, and the ability to forecast.

In another study, a group of scientists surveyed people aged 14 to 22 for several years. The study involved 12,686 people from various socio-economic backgrounds with different levels of education. Despite such a wide range of participants, the results showed a general trend: the difference in intelligence between the respondents and their mothers did not exceed 15 points on the IQ scale.