Question: What’s is the most interesting thing you have discovered? x

Emma Meaburn answered on 1 Feb 2019:

This is a tough question! Early on in my career I was failing to find specific genes linked to learning abilities in children and it really surprised us – we really thought we would find one or two genes. I thought I had perhaps performed the experiment incorrectly, or something had gone wrong! It turned out that we were one of the first groups of scientists to show that whilst genes do contribute to complicated human traits (such as how well you do at school) – there are lots (and lots!) of them, and each one only makes a tiny difference.
Scientists have made a lot of progress finding these genes (each with tiny effects), and now we are working hard to figure out how they work. Do they alter how your brain develops, or how cells talk to each other, etc. There is still much work to do!