Genetics key to teen violence

More evidence on the genetic component to what we think of as "evil". :

Whether a criminal teenager turns into a violent adult or grows out of crime, may be related to how low his ears are set or the types of food he was given as a child. International research shows antisocial behaviour in young adults can be written into their genetic code, and made worse by bad parenting. Indicators that an antisocial child may turn into a life-long violent criminal can be picked up in kindergarten, according to research summarised in this week's New Scientist magazine... Learning to fear punishment or recognise someone else's fear or sadness is difficult for psychopaths, he said. "If they want something and punching someone in the face is the way to extract it, they might be more likely to engage in that kind of behaviour," he said. Mr Blair says there are few signs that these psychopathic traits are caused by external factors like poor parenting or abuse, but they could be triggered by social forces like poverty.

Via SOTT