Fat Dads' Epigenetic Legacy

Fat Dads' Epigenetic Legacy

www.the-scientist.com

Children with obese fathers show epigenetic changes that may affect their health.

...“During pregnancy, the mother has to be careful what she eats and drinks, et cetera, but in general, not much is published about the effects of the father,”...

“There are a number of diseases we’ve known [that] are paternally influenced, but we didn’t know the mechanism ...environmental epigenetics might be the mechanism for these effects.”

...“This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

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Related News Links:
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www.time.com
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en.wikipedia.org

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Epigenetics is about inherited diseases and other changes that are NOT coded genetically in DNA. Virtually all epigenetic changes result from environmental influences and distress. Odd though, the ones talked about publicly have to do with blaming individuals, not contaminations from industrial activity or medications or GE products.

Oh well. A bit of truth is better than no truth. I guess.

Isn't our genetic legacy hardwired?

From Mendel and Darwin in the 19th century to Watson and Crick in the 20th, scientists have shown that chromosomes passed from parent to child form a genetic blueprint for development. But in a quiet scientific revolution, researchers have in recent years come to realize that genes aren't a fixed, predetermined program simply passed from one generation to the next. Instead, genes can be turned on and off by experiences and environment. What we eat, how much stress we undergo, and what toxins we're exposed to can all alter the genetic legacy we pass on to our children and even grandchildren. In this new science of "epigenetics," researchers are exploring how nature and nurture combine to cause behavior, traits, and illnesses that genes alone can't explain, ranging from sexual orientation to autism to cancer. "We were all brought up to think the genome was it," said Rockefeller University molecular biologist C. David Allis. "It's really been a watershed in understanding that there is something beyond the genome."

What is epigenetics?

The word literally means "on top of genetics," and it's the study of how individual genes can be activated or deactivated by life experiences. Each one of our cells, from skin cells to neurons, contains an identical DNA blueprint, yet they perform vastly different functions. That's because epigenetic "tags" block developing fetal cells from following any genetic instructions that don't pertain to their intended roles. That biochemical process, scientists have discovered, occurs not just during gestation and early development but throughout adulthood, switching genes on or off and altering our mental and physical health.

www.the-scientist.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by soficrow


The way the present generation is developing we may find out a new completely group of new characteristic in the new born DNA and pre disposition that will be the course of scientific research and study for generations to come.

Remember Sofi, our DNAs has been changed thanks to all the environmental factors that has been introduced into our everyday lives from food to to the air we breath.

Sadly the strongest will survive, while the weak will die and I dare to say that a new species will develop that will become immune to all that.

But I am afraid of how they will look like. I wonder if is any new genetic variations on blood types that has sprouted recently able to take more poisons from the environment.

Scary things are heading our way but it will be evolution by force of men no nature.

reply to post by marg6043


Thanks for your reply marg.

The way the present generation is developing we may find out a new completely group of new characteristic in the new born DNA and pre disposition that will be the course of scientific research and study for generations to come.

Remember Sofi, our DNAs has been changed thanks to all the environmental factors that has been introduced into our everyday lives from food to to the air we breath.

The important point here is that our DNA has NOT changed - the changes can be inherited yes, but the changes are epigenetic. The DNA is intact and remains unchanged.

Sadly the strongest will survive, while the weak will die and I dare to say that a new species will develop

The strongest are not who we think they are. The apparently healthy are just protected and unexposed - they have no defences and have not adapted to real-world changes.

Scary things are heading our way but it will be evolution by force of men no nature.

True. Just google c.difficile, salmonella, e.coli, MRSA and TB for the evolutionary preview.

The idea is that our DNA is like a meccano or lego set. Many genes store DNA to define proteins, enzymes, lipids and other building blocks. Depending on the activity of an individual, various genes will frequently be activated or deactivated (muscle building, digestion/energy extraction from food, suntanning if out in sunlight, neuron building if there's a lot of learning). Then the theory is that these settings can be passed onto the next generation to give them an advantage.

a reply to: stormcell

Hmmm. Thought the purely mechanistic view was dropped a while ago. Yes, it's true that both positive and negative epigenetic effects can be passed on for 3 maybe 4 generations, but it's also true that individual have some power to purposefully modify those settings too. Think Sufi or Zen training - BOP!, open a door, twirl a few dials, change the structure and change the effect...