Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture DebateOver the past century, we have made great strides in reducing rates of disease and enhancing people’s general health. Public health measures such as sanitation, improved hygiene, and vaccines; reduced hazards in the workplace; new drugs and clinical procedures; and, more recently, a growing understanding of the human genome have each played a role in extending the duration and raising the quality of human life.
But research conducted over the past few decades shows us that this progress, much of which was based on investigating one causative factor at a time--often, through a single discipline or by a narrow range of practitioners--can only go so far.
Recent knowledge, including much of what has so far been gleaned from the sequencing of the human genome, is pushing scientists to look beyond single agents of health and disease. By breaking out of their disciplinary “silos” and embracing a broader systems view, based on the understanding that health outcomes are the result of multiple determinants—social, behavioral, and genetic--that work in concert through complex interactions, the best health outcomes from research may be yet to come.
Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment examines a number of well-described gene-environment interactions, reviews the state of the science in researching such interactions, and recommends priorities not only on research itself but also on its workforce, resource, and infrastructural needs.
The report also identifies gaps in knowledge and barriers that hamper the integration of social, behavioral, and genetic research, concluding that a number of far-reaching changes, specifically in the development of transdisciplinary research, are required if significant strides are to be made in the future. Transdisciplinary reserach offers a mechanism to achieve a far greater understanding of how interactions among social, behavioral, and genetic factors affect health and illness.
