Maybe something is wrong with this genetic analysis study! Maybe beat synchronization is a poor indicator for musical genius!
"... The first genomic analysis of Beethoven’s DNA, focused on possible genetic predispositions to his health, didn’t investigate the composer’s most famed traits because, at the time, there wasn’t an informative genome-wide association study (GWAS) of musical talent. However, a subsequent GWAS involving 606,825 individuals identified the specific locations (loci) of 69 genes significantly associated with beat synchronization ability ... A follow-up family study showed that polygenic indices had a small but significant effect on several music-related skills and traits.
Polygenic indices (PGIs) or a polygenic score (PGS) is a number that summarizes the estimated effect of many – hence, ‘poly’ – genetic variants on the physical manifestation of an individual’s genes. In the current study, the researchers calculated Beethoven's PGI and compared it with two population-based datasets of thousands of modern-day individuals for whom they had musical achievement data. ...
“Interestingly, Beethoven, one of the most celebrated musicians in history, had an unremarkable polygenic score for general musicality compared to population samples from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Vanderbilt’s BioVU repository.”"
“Interestingly, Beethoven, one of the most celebrated musicians in history, had an unremarkable polygenic score for general musicality compared to population samples from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Vanderbilt’s BioVU repository.”"
"... An international team of researchers analyzed Beethoven’s DNA to investigate his genetic musical predisposition, an ability closely related to musicality, by using sequences from a 2023 study in which the composer’s genetic material was extracted from strands of his hair. ..."
From the abstract (this is a very strange abstract, more like a teaser):
"Rapid advances over the last decade in DNA sequencing and statistical genetics enable us to investigate the genomic makeup of individuals throughout history. In a recent notable study, Begg et al. used Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair strands for genome sequencing and explored genetic predispositions for some of his documented medical issues. Given that it was arguably Beethoven’s skills as a musician and composer that made him an iconic figure in Western culture, we here extend the approach and apply it to musicality. We use this as an example to illustrate the broader challenges of individual-level genetic predictions."
Beethoven’s genes reveal low predisposition for beat synchronization (original news release) What the exceptional composer’s DNA tells us about genetics
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