  urlLink Rebecca Blood tipped me off to this great urlLink article , which reports on the latest nature/nurture research. Lise Eliot could have predicted these results several years ago! In her book, What's Going on in There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life, she explains the nature/nurture divide by assuming the break is 50%:50%.
You as a parent clearly have control over the 50% that's nurture. But you as a parent also have influence over the other half. Assume the genetic half is a ball rolling down hill. Trees or landscape along the way will determine which route the ball takes. Your input on the environment can affect the child's brain's reaction to preset genetic indicators of behavior and growth.
This adjustment results in the nurture side of the equation tilting to at least 75%:25%. The big thing the research discussed in this Washington Post article does is quiet whatever arguments still were made against early childhood ed programs like urlLink Headstart . Funding for early childhood initiatives remains the easiest investment possible for the country's future.
It's the one place where input dollars will affect every adult in the country within 25 years. One of the most influential indicators of every aspect of adulthood from health to criminal activity is always early childhood education. 
