College graduates marry other college graduates, or at least that’s the way it usually goes in the United States. A 2014 Facebook Survey found that nearly a third of Americans attended the same college as their spouses. Despite past research identifying specific genes associated with completing higher education, a new study shows nearly a century of education-driven mating has done nothing to change the country’s genetic makeup. This is a clear example of how genetics do not always mirror changes in lifestyle. For the study, researchers from universities across the country investigated whether shifts in the marriage landscape over the past 100 years changed the American genome. Over the period from 1920 to 1955, the team evaluated more than 2,000 white, non-Hispanic married couples for differences in educational attainment, height, body mass index, and depression, along with genes associated with these traits. Results showed that, despite more individuals marrying others with their same level of education, there were no changes in the presence of genes linked to educational attainment. There also was no association between the educational level a couple had achieved and genes influencing their offspring's height, BMI, or depression. According to lead researcher Dr. Dalton Conley in a recent statement, these interesting results show how sexual selection and human behavior do not always have such a strong influence over genetic changes. http://www.medicaldaily.com/college-education-marriage-genome-genetic-makeup-388218
