Is our destiny written in our DNA?

Ever catch yourself doing something exactly like your mum or dad used to? And do you think you inherited their best or worst traits—or was it more about how they raised you?

To answer the age-old question of "nature vs. nurture", we invited Dr. Kathryn Paige Harden to Brain Bar. Dr. Harden, the director of the Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab at the University of Texas believes that our DNA impacts not only our personality traits but also our academic and financial success. In addition to more than 100 scientific articles on the topic, she has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post, and published her book 'The Genetic Lottery’ in 2021.

At Brain Bar, she revealed why and how our genetics shape us more than we might realize. From our success at school to struggles with substance abuse, she explained how DNA influences our lives—and how we can still build a more equal society despite the genetic differences that seemingly determine our stories.