Study: Biology has political impact

You may have always thought that your environment and social experiences shaped your political views, but new research finds that genes may have a bigger impact than previously thought.

In London, researchers found that the area of the brain that processes conflicting information was larger for liberals, while the area that processes fear and threats was larger for conservatives.

UC San Diego and Harvard researchers say a dopamine receptor may also play a role. They found people born with a specific version of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults.

Also, researchers from NYU found people who scored high on a scale measuring fear of death were almost four times more likely to hold conservative views, while those who expressed interest in new experiences tended to be liberals.