Results of the study: Hatemi PK, McDermott R:

The genetics of politics: discovery, challenges, and progress. Trends Genet. 2012 Oct;28(10):525-33.

Hatemi and McDermott's (2012) study examined the role of genetics in political beliefs and behavior.

The authors state that political orientations and behaviors are influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Previous studies have shown that genetic factors can explain between 30% and 60% of the variance in political beliefs.

The study also describes some of the challenges and difficulties in researching the genetic basis of political beliefs. For example, political beliefs and behavior can be difficult to measure and define, and there are many genes involved in regulating brain functions that can be associated with political beliefs.

Despite these challenges, advances in genomics and methods for measuring political beliefs have opened up the possibility of better understanding the complex interplay of genes and environmental factors in the formation of political beliefs and behavior.