PBS Special on Epigenetics
I came across a PBS show that talks about an emerging area of genetics research called epigenetics. Two people (for example, identical twins) can have the same genetic makeup yet be very different. Scientists are discovering that these differences are partially attributable to “epigenetic” changes that don’t physically alter a person’s DNA but change how the DNA is activated (or not). As these changes occur in sex cells, they are also propagated to a person’s posterity.
As people go through life, they acquire more and more of these changes, and it varies from person to person depending on lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, environmental exposures, etc. This may explain why one identical twin gets a heritable form of cancer while the other does not, even though they have exactly the same DNA (and no mutations have occurred).
One key realization is that the way we choose to live can not only impact us negatively (or positively), but it can have a real impact on our posterity. Another realization is that if scientists can better understand epigenetics, they can devise treatments that address it. The PBS video explains it in an understandable way.
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October 24th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
fascinating! behavior modifying gene expression . . . I wonder if that can expand beyond the environment realm into thought and attitude. We seem to have a wave of ‘what you think’ = your life lately . . . and I think there’s so much validity to it. Of course, thought directly impacts choice – and thereby mediates your environment . . . but I wonder if it could be deeper than that.