The impact of genes and the environment on human development has long been a controversial debate. On the one hand, some argue that nature is the sole determinant of human development; on the other hand, others claim that education is the sole determinant of human development. This article will discuss the possible roles of both biology and environment on cognitive abilities by providing a balanced interpretation based on the text and relevant class readings. The influence of nature is not limited to appearance but extends beyond. Studies have shown that people inherit cognitive abilities and temperament patterns from their parents. The new question in today's research is: to what extent does nature play the role in the formation of human personality and whether the environment can favorably or negatively influence an individual's personality (Sigelman & Rider, 2009). There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each individual's inheritance chromosome. Of these 23 pairs, 22 are similar in males and females. The 23rd pair determines the sex of an individual. As seen in this case, genes are the only determinants of an individual's sex (Sigelman & Rider, 2009). Although some traits of the human body are determined only by genes, in many cases it is not so black and white. For example, in a study by Bouchard and McGue (1981), the intellectual abilities of some family members are compared to reveal the degree of interaction between genes and environment. According to this study, the average correlation between identical twins is 0.86 if they grew up together and 0.72 if they grew up apart. The average correlation for fraternal twins raised together is 0.60 and for fraternal twins raised apart is 0.52. M...... half of the article...... cal characteristics (Sigelman & Rider, 2009). Let us return to the study by Grilo and Pogue-Geile (1991). In this study, the correlation for height between pairs of twins is 0.80. Even if we assume that 80% of height is determined by genes, the percentage is still a whopping 20%. Let's say your genes determine your height to be at least 5 feet. With a healthy diet, exercising, avoiding smoking, drugs and excessive alcohol consumption, the remaining 20% ​​of environmental factors can enable you to reach a height of 6.4 feet. Although nature and nurture are still a hot topic, in light of recent research, most people now believe that both play a significant role in development. Instead of separating and managing their contributions one by one, it is more realistic to take a holistic approach and understand how these forces work together to make us who we are..