--- title: Humans Are Genetically More Similar to Their Fathers, Study Finds description: In fact, all mammals use more DNA from their fathers than their mothers canonical: https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-03T06:12:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:51:34.156Z article:section: Science og:title: Genetically, We're More Like Our Dads og:description: Sorry mom. og:url: https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Genetically, We're More Like Our Dads twitter:description: Sorry mom. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Humans Are Genetically More Similar to Their Fathers, Study Finds by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Mar 3, 2015 6:12 AM CUT by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Mar 3, 2015 6:12 AM CUT Every parent wants their child to be just like them, but new research shows that [dads may have an advantage](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302123253.htm "undefined") at least from a genetic standpoint. According to a study by the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine and published in the journal _Nature Genetics_, mammals use more DNA from the father than the mother when undergoing mutations — the genetic process that makes us who we are. The researchers, led by genetics professor and senior author Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, tested the genetic mutations of specially crossbred mice to see which mutations altered gene expression. Of the 80% that did, several hundred genes showed a “genome-wide expression imbalance in favor of the dad,” first author James Crowley told Science Daily. “This imbalance resulted in offspring whose brain-gene expression was significantly more like their father’s.” The authors believe a similar bias would exist for human subjects. Pardo-Manuel de Villena called the results “an exceptional new research finding that opens the door to an entirely new area of exploration in human genetics.” \[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302123253.htm "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/"},"headline":"Humans Are Genetically More Similar to Their Fathers, Study Finds","datePublished":"2015-03-03T06:12:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:51:34.156Z","description":"Sorry mom","url":"https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/","keywords":["Research","Genetics","father","study"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3729660/science-genetics-mutations-similar-fathers/","name":"Humans Are Genetically More Similar to Their Fathers, Study Finds"}}]}] ```