Is the Paranormal in Our Genes?

By Avery Teal

People inherit traits from their parents, who inherited traits from their parents, and so on. This phenomenon is genetics, the study of heredity in organisms. Genetics accounts for a family with four generations of blue eyes and blonde hair and grandsons with the same crinkle-eyed smile as their grandfathers. But more than appearance and personality might be influenced by genetic components. It has been said that paranormal abilities, such as mediumship and precognition, run in families. If that claim is correct, could genetics be the explanation or at least part of it?

Precisely this is the line of questioning explored in a pilot study on the genetics of psychic ability in 2022. Researchers selected 23 people to participate in this study. The candidates selected had completed interviews and passed mental health screenings. The researchers first chose participants to be part of the psychic-case group; those in the case group self-reported abilities such as telepathy, mediumship, clairvoyance, and remote viewing. Researchers picked candidates for the psychic group that demonstrated enhanced performance on tasks showcasing supernatural talent. After the participants for the psychic-case group were chosen, researchers then selected 10 participants that had no claims of psychic ability and that matched the ages, sexes, and ethnicity of those in the psychic-case group. Next, all 23 participants gave a sample of their saliva to researchers. The researchers sent the samples to a lab to undergo a process known as whole exome sequencing. This process broke down the genetic code within the saliva samples. The technique allowed for certain types of genetic information, known as exons and introns, to be analyzed. 

When the gene sequences of the two groups were analyzed, significant variations between the exons of the control group and the exons of the case group did not get reported. However, the participant’s exons were not the only genetic material examined. A difference between an intron was discovered when comparing the samples of the two groups: seven out of the nine participants in the control group had a variation on the same intron. The intron is adjacent to an exon within the TNRC18 gene on chromosome 7. Not only did the majority of the control group possess this variation, not one of the members of the psychic-case group had it. 

Is this one study enough to completely confirm the theory that there is a demonstrable genetic difference between those who possess abilities like enhanced empathy, precognition, and mediumship and those who don’t? No, it is not. The sample size of this study is undeniably small; as a result, the findings could be unrepresentative of the entire population. 

Further, quantifying a thing as complex as supernatural talent is difficult. Participants established themselves as someone with psychic abilities or as someone without them. Either way, they assigned their label themselves. All participants did undergo online psi tests designed to highlight enhanced performance among the psychic case group compared to their control group counterparts. The psi tests helped researchers feel confident that the people selected for the psychic-case group had supernatural abilities that were statistically significant. However, some of the psychics felt as though the online tasks were not sufficient enough to showcase their full capabilities. A better method of validating and measuring paranormal abilities might be necessary for future investigations into this topic to be as reliable as possible. Regardless, the complete absence of this genetic variation amongst the self-proclaimed psychics is enough, in my opinion, to warrant further investigations.

Whether genetics or something else entirely – there is an underlying cause for the psychic abilities possessed by some members of the population. Scientific examinations of this topic, and others like it, are currently few and far between. But that might change. A study on exceptional experiences found that 93.2%, or 175, of the scientists and engineers that participated in the study experienced at least one supernatural occurrence. While experiencing a supernatural phenomenon and possessing psychic abilities are not the same thing, both of the aforementioned studies bring the paranormal into the world of scientific inquiry. Members of the scientific community are personally reporting having paranormal experiences. Perhaps those scientists will begin investigating such things. One day, maybe sooner than later, there might be an answer to the question: is the paranormal, in fact, in our genes?