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YOUR NATURAL BIRTHRIGHT
"Your daughter looks just like you!" the woman in the photo shop exclaimed with a big smile as she handed me the pictures she had just developed. I was pleased as punch to be connected with the delightful little girl she'd obviously noticed in my family snapshots, but I had to be straight with her: "She's not my daughter. She's my niece."
This exchange occurred several years ago. But it came to thought when I read a New York Times piece by Amy Harmon, "That Wild Streak? Maybe It Runs in the Family" (June 15, 2006). Both the article and the photo shop incident were reminders of the strong appeal, and hold, heredity can have. "A growing understanding of human genetics," wrote Ms. Harmon, "is prompting fresh consideration of how much control people have over who they are and how they act." The article reported that scientists are becoming more convinced that human behavior is influenced by specific genes. Not just diseases long considered hereditary, but propensities to conditions such as obesity and nicotine addiction, even character traits, are now traced to genetics.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
October 30, 2006 issue
View Issue-
LETTERS
with contributions from GLORIA ONYURU, JOHN ROOKER, CHRIS SNOW, DIANNE JARRETTE
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The quickening Spirit
KIM SHIPPEY, SENIOR WRITER
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
with contributions from Shauna Stephenson, Breffini O'Rourke
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POWERFUL, PRACTICAL TRUTH 'THE SCIENTIFIC STATEMENT OF BEING'
BY BART VAN ECK
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A MATTER OF EVIDENCE
BY LYNN JACKSON
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THERE IS NO MATTER
MARY BAKER EDDY
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STANDING TALL
BY ANJULI GRAUNKE
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TEMPERING TEMPER
BY JOHN MINARD
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Celebrate LIFE
BY LEIDE LESSA
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WHAT DOES LOVE LOOK LIKE?
BY ERIC NELSON
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CATCHING A THERMAL
KATE ROBERTSON
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SNAKES, LIONS, AND LOVE
GLYNIS BURGDORFF
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YOUR NATURAL BIRTHRIGHT
RUTH WALKER
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GOD'S MOTHER-LOVE HEALS BABY
TRINKA WASIK
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BURNED HAND QUICKLY HEALED THROUGH PRAYER
ANNE MEPHAM
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NORMAL VISION RESTORED
NAN PARKER WILLIAMS