Man is a weak being. His life is short, and his possibilities are extremely limited. Dangers lurk at every turn. You will not suffer yourself, so someone close. Goals? What are the goals? It would be okay to live somehow. Life won't be enough for anything significant anyway … But there are people who will take and turn the course of history in their own way, somehow influence the fate of an entire nation. They are then remembered for centuries, books are written, films are made. How are people like that made? And are they people at all? What, interestingly, does the science of genetics say about this?
USEFUL MUTATIONS
Mutation is a damage to genes, and everything depends on the genes in our body. And its development, and the work of all organs, and endurance. Bad genes mean bad health. However, genetic scientists have long discovered that some mutations can bring unexpected benefits to a living organism. For example, there is a mutation in which molds have an increased production of antibiotics and therefore better resist pathogenic bacteria. The bright green mutant of barley known in Sweden is much more viable than normal plants. In people living in "malarial" areas, a mutation that changes the shape of red blood cells reduces the likelihood of illness. Beneficial mutations were seized upon in the twentieth century by Darwinists, who believed they were a powerful argument for the theory of natural selection. That's how it is, but the mutation, whatever it is,it's still a mutation, that is, a violation of the genotype. It cannot be unambiguously useful. You have to pay for everything. An excessive amount of the antibiotic produced begins to inhibit the fungus itself. The vitality of bright green barley is declining in the south. The wrong shape of blood cells leads to metabolic disorders.
SOVIET SCIENTIST - "SERVANT OF IMPERIALISM"
Barley, mushrooms, blood cells … And where are the great people?
For the first time, the Soviet scientist Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson (1908 - 1989) took up seriously the problem of genetics of genius. He studied the connections between various congenital pathologies of people and an unusually high level of creative, intellectual activity, rare efficiency and purposefulness. Having processed a huge amount of historical, genealogical, medical information, the scientist came to the inevitable conclusion: geniuses are born. It was genes, and nothing else, that played a decisive role in the formation of so many great people of the past. The environment, the historical moment, upbringing - all this only reduced or increased the likelihood of a genius being realized.
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From the late forties and up to the early sixties, genetics in the USSR was considered an anti-Soviet science, it was called "the reactionary intrigues of the Weismanist Morganists" and "the servant of imperialism." It is clear why. What kind of equality between people and nations can we talk about if everything is determined by heredity? Equality exclusively in the rights of the Soviet leaders did not suit in any way. Too few. More is desirable: in needs, in abilities. Again, agriculture. Soviet wheat and corn simply had to grow where the party ordered them. And here geneticists flog annoying nonsense about heredity. "Why are you all talking about leaves, flowers and thorns, instead of raising the crop?" - Stalin once asked Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov. The further tragic fate of the scientist is known …
Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson was lucky in those years. He stayed alive. He had to go through two arrests, exile to a Kazakh camp, and suspension from scientific work for many years. Only in the mid-sixties he was able to return to genetic research. Vladimir Pavlovich received his doctorate (15 years after the actual defense!) And became the head of the department of genetics at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR. However, in 1975, Efroimson left the institute to protest the use of mental hospitals as prisons for dissidents. The manuscript of his monograph "Genius and Genetics" was deposited in 1982. The general public was able to get acquainted with this book only in 1998, that is, nine years after the death of the scientist. It is in this book that Efroimson speaks about the hereditary factors of increased human intellectual activity.
GENIUS IN "FOOT DRIP"
The word "gout" comes from the Greek "podos" - leg and "ager" - trap. The famous Hippocrates in ancient Greece and Galen in ancient Rome tried to understand the nature of this disease. A person with gout experiences periodic severe joint pain. The joints of the big toes are most commonly affected. Gnawing pain comes most often at night. It is so strong that it completely deprives a person of sleep.
At the end of the nineteenth century, it was firmly established that the cause of pain is crystals of uric acid salts, which are deposited in the joints. Uric acid is the end product of the breakdown of organic molecules (nitrogenous bases) that enter the human body every day with food. Most of the uric acid is filtered by the kidneys and excreted from the body. In a healthy person, the content of uric acid in the blood does not exceed 0.05-0.07 grams per liter. In gouty, the mechanism of excretion of this substance is broken, acid accumulates in the body, reaching an indicator of 30 g per liter of blood.
Okay, but can some kind of urine be associated with genius? It turned out that - directly. The English scientist Ellis first pointed out that geniuses suffer from gout much more often than ordinary people. Efroimson, having studied about two thousand biographies of great people, came to the final conclusion: gout occurs in geniuses 12 times more often than in ordinary people. In addition, children of parents with gout develop it in 80% of cases. This means that gout is a hereditary disease.
The structure of the uric acid molecule is very similar to caffeine and theobromine, known stimulants of brain activity. Thus, the brain of the gout is constantly agitated, as if under the influence of very strong coffee or tea. Only you don't need to drink anything. The body produces itself a stimulant. We have already talked about how you have to pay for it.
In his book, Efroimson gives short biographies of more than one hundred great gouty people of the past. There are many people among them, whose enormous influence on the fate of mankind is indisputable. These are Alexander the Great, Pope Gregory the Great, Emperor Charlemagne, Kublai Khan, Christopher Columbus, Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Martin Luther, Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, Cardinal Giulio Mazarin, Peter the Great, Benjamin Franklin, Otto Bismarck. Of course, it can be said that among these people there are many who, by birth, were prepared for a prominent role in society. However, this is precisely the factor that increases the likelihood of a genius being realized. Suffice it to recall what a huge number of aristocrats and monarchs did not leave a noticeable trace in history. Amazingly frequent occurrence of gout is among the generals. It's hard to imagine a diseasemore incompatible with military field life. And nevertheless, it was as if a powerful force moved these people forward, forcing them to sometimes lead battles from a stretcher.
GREAT GREATS
People with this condition are rarely born. In one case out of fifty thousand. The disease is transmitted genetically, but not always fully manifested and often leads to intrauterine fetal death. Geneticists even call this anomaly "semi-lethal." People who managed to survive with this disease to adulthood are very tall with a relatively short trunk. They have absurdly long limbs, huge feet. The fingers on the hands resemble spider paws - they are so long. In addition to external signs, patients also have chest deformation, aortic aneurysms and dislocation of the lens. It would seem difficult to simply survive with such symptoms. What kind of great people are there?
And yet. A rare anomaly has gifted humanity with several remarkable personalities. The fact is that with Marfan syndrome, which is the name of this terrible disease, the level of adrenaline in the blood is constantly increased in the body. The adrenal glands work much harder than in healthy people. This hormone has a powerful effect on the nervous system, as it is involved in the transmission of signals from one nerve cell to another. As a result, people with Marfan syndrome live as if they were on high alert at all times. They do not know fatigue, their efficiency and desire to do something are inexhaustible. Their courage is limitless.
Among the prominent politicians with Marfan syndrome, at least two people got along. This is Abraham Lincoln and Charles de Gaulle.
With a height of 193 cm, Abraham Lincoln's long fingers could be bent far back. His thinness was disfiguring. And at the same time - a tireless fighter, a brilliant orator, a great strategist and tactician, a bright and resourceful mind. Abraham Lincoln lived only fifty-six years. Born into a lumberjack family, he became a lawyer, then a member of Congress, then - the President of the United States. With extraordinary persistence, energy, endurance, common sense and determination, he waged a difficult war for the liberation of blacks.
The tall Charles de Gaulle seemed small when he sat, as his legs were disproportionately long. Narrow shoulders, arms hanging almost to the knees, huge feet, narrow face, prominent nose. This almost ugly man did so much for his country that they said about him: he is France. Vigor, combined with an unusually perceptive, prudent and "non-stencil" mind - this is what made Charles de Gaulle one of the greatest figures of the twentieth century. Back in the twenties, he predicted the German occupation of France. Just before the capitulation, he was appointed assistant minister of war. When his call to transfer the government overseas and continue the struggle was not supported, he himself went to London. From there, his famous appeal to the French people sounded.
After the liberation of France, he restored order, created a strong army, nationalized banks and the coal industry. In 1946, de Gaulle resigned from the presidency and sat down to write military memoirs. After several years of absence, he again decided to offer his services to the people, and eighty percent of voters voted for him. Once again in power, he significantly strengthened the international position of France. Under him, the franc became a stable currency. It was Charles de Gaulle who created the atomic industry in the country, gave France atomic weapons and began to conduct an independent foreign policy.
Charles de Gaulle's life was attempted thirty-two times, but no threats could force him to somehow change his political course. For decades, Charles de Gaulle was the idol of many people in France and abroad. He remains so now, thirty-two years after his death.
It may seem that the diagnosis made by Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson to two great people is insulting and unprovable. However, the scientist came to the conclusion about the Marfan syndrome in Abraham Lincoln and Charles de Gaulle after carefully studying the stories of the families of these people. In addition, he analyzed all of their surviving portraits, including verbal descriptions of their contemporaries who knew them well. As for the offensiveness, there is nothing like this in such a diagnosis. After all, Marfan syndrome itself does not give a person either talent or goals. It only makes the body work wildly. In a person mediocre and superficial, he can cause unjustified ambition, which will not bring any benefit either to his owner, or even more so to his country. The fate of Abraham Lincoln and Charles de Gaulle suggests that the wild <<genetic fire”was kindled in truly pure hearts of talented people.
THE VIRGIN OF ORLEANS WAS A MAN ?
According to the materials of the trial of Joan of Arc, who appeared before a church tribunal in 1431, there is a mention of one episode. Her confessor Jean Pasquerel said that at the behest of the king, Jeanne was subjected to a special examination. The purpose of the procedure was to confirm the presence, or detect the absence, of virginity in the one that many called the virgin. Two noble ladies - Madame de Gaucourt and Madame de Treves - examined and informed the king that Jeanne was a female and an innocent girl. The ladies didn't lie. In addition to this evidence, there are several more verbal portraits of the French heroine. (Unfortunately, not a single lifetime image of her has survived.) People who knew her personally reported that she was a tall, slender, black-haired girl, rather attractive. Where, then, can the hypothesis of her belonging to the male sex come from? The Maid of Orleans was an unusual creature, if not fantastic. The daughter of a peasant from the border French village of Domremy, she decided that it was she, and no one else, who was destined to free France from the English invaders. With this thought, at the age of seventeen, she came to the commandant of the nearest fortress Robert de Baudricourt and demanded to give her soldiers.
She needed: a) to lift the British siege from the city of Orleans and b) to take the Dauphin Charles to the city of Reims for his coronation so that he would finally become the full-fledged king of France, Charles VII.
(The city of Reims also had to be seized first.) They wanted to give the girl a good slap and send her home, but then for some reason they gave a soldier, a horse, a man's dress, a cover letter and sent her to the Dauphin. Soon the siege from Orleans was lifted, and Charles VII was crowned in Reims Cathedral. Isn't it a miracle?
Jeanne, indeed, was perceived by her contemporaries as a wonderful creature. She was so energetic, indefatigable, courageous and true to herself and her mission that no one dared to recognize her as just an ordinary girl. She could ride horseback for several days, sleep without taking off her armor. She ate and drank extremely little, her wounds healed faster than others. She encouraged anyone she spoke to. It is not surprising that the French churchmen were so frightened by the appearance of the wonderful virgin that they dealt with her in such a short time. A living saint is what the church needed least of all. Joan of Arc was only nineteen years old when she was burned at the stake. In a little over a year, she rode about five thousand miles on horseback, freed several cities from the British, withstood captivity and a difficult trial. Her mystery still worries scientists,and her image inspires more and more people of art to create works about her.
At one time, Zhanna and Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson became interested. He carefully studied several monographs of historians, collected all the information available to him about the miracle girl and put forward a sensational hypothesis, adding his knowledge of gender genetics. The whole unique set of personal characteristics of Joan of Arc can be easily explained if we assume that she has an extremely rare genetic disease.
This disorder occurs in people in one case in sixty-five thousand. It is called Morris syndrome or testicular feminization, for greater clarity, a little excursion into CYTOLOGY is needed.
Now, from school, everyone knows that a person's sex is determined by sex chromosomes, which are traditionally designated X and Y. If there are two X chromosomes in the cells of the body, then the sex is female, if X and Y, then male. age sex is not differentiated. There is a rudiment of the gonad, which is exactly the same in future boys and girls. At the seventh week, if there is a Y-chromosome in the cells of the embryo, the germ begins to turn into male sex glands - testes. In the testes, the male sex hormone testosterone begins to be produced. Under the influence of this hormone, the body develops into a boy. If there is no Y chromosome, then development follows the female path. With Morris syndrome in a person who is genetically male, that is, has X and Y chromosomes,due to the mutation, the cells lose sensitivity to the male sex hormone. It is produced, but the body develops as if it does not exist. The result is a creature that looks like a normal girl. In her body, testes have time to form, which remain in the abdominal cavity. The uterus and ovaries are completely absent, although the external genitalia correspond to normal female ones.
People suffering from Morris syndrome are completely sterile, such "women" never have a period. At the same time, in their physical and mental qualities, they are much more similar to men, and in terms of endurance and dexterity, they often surpass the latter. The male sex hormone is, among other things, also a powerful stimulant of the nervous system. With testicular feminization, the hormone is not consumed for its natural purpose, that is, it is not fixed on countless peripheral tissues, but all affects only nerve cells. The result is the wonderful, astounding properties of the host organism of the syndrome. Many coaches and sports doctors are aware of this syndrome, which sometimes forces the best athletes to be excluded from the national teams of the major leagues. When tested for the presence of a Y chromosome, the result is often positive.
Of course, Joan of Arc's Morris syndrome is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis is quite probable. In her favor is the fact that the Maid of Orleans did not seem to have menstruation. This fact is indicated even by such a respected edition as the French encyclopedic dictionary "Larousse".
MUTATION IS NOT A TALENT YET
As a result of all of the above, one might get the impression that only some mutant can be a genius. In fact, and Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson has repeatedly emphasized this, no stimulation of intellectual activity in itself can lead to the emergence of a unique creative and purposeful personality.
All the genetic disorders that were discussed only helped geniuses to realize themselves, gave them additional energy. No stimulation could have made Alexander the Great want to conquer half the world, Joan of Arc to want to liberate France, Peter the Great to want to transform Russia. That is, mutation alone is not enough. But is it necessary - science has yet to answer this question.
The author expresses gratitude for his help in preparing the material for the article to Sergey Yuryevich Afonkin, Candidate of Biological Sciences, author of the books "Secrets of Human Heredity" and "Know Your Genes".
Julia DUNAEVA. "X-Files of the 20th Century"