Holy Fuck. Epigenetics.

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Calleja

Calleja

So... why the hell isn't this..y'know.. EVERYWHERE?!

I just saw a documentary on epigenetics and... man.. what a... paradigm shifting experience. Seriously.

In a nutshell, and explained by a non-expert moron, the way we saw genes wasn't the whole picture... there's this whole 'nother level of ..stuff.. proteins and other molecules and shit.. that actually CONTROL which genes are "activated" and which aren't... fair enough, that doesn't sound too out there.

This is what got to me though... these controlling stuff? What they call EPIgenetics, as in OVER the genetics... shift over time. Our actual genetic code, or its function at least, is not permanent but in a constant state of flux.... and it's changed by what we eat, drink, smoke.. and even LIVE.

People.. life EXPERIENCES have an actual, quantifiable, real effect on our GENES.

Seriously... am I the only one who finds that... just... damn.

There's this whole other plethora of jaw-dropping stuff (like the conditions of your grandfather's childhood having an effect on YOUR life expectancy) but I just had to ask the resident forum doctors about epigenetics, cause... fuck.

Also, everyone watch "Ghost in your Genes". A Nova-BBC documentary thingie which is, seriously, literally awesome. In the awe-inspiring sense.

(if you don't know how to get your hands on it, PM me and I *might* be able to solve that with a certain, uh... y'know.. PM response content :D)
 
Calleja

Calleja

I know, right?

In the future, the Human EPIgenome will be finished and then we'll be able to actually treat, cure, and prevent GENETIC diseases. Just by injecting stuff that will turn on or off particular genes.

Hell, they've already had success treating CANCER patients with epigenetic therapy.


Also, naming this new stuff "epigenetics" is clever in that everything we already used with the word "genetics" can also be adapted to epigenetics in naming, so we have epigenetic code and epigenetic therapy and Epigene Hackman.
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Calleja said:
So... why the hell isn't this..y'know.. EVERYWHERE?!

I just saw a documentary on epigenetics and... man.. what a... paradigm shifting experience. Seriously.

In a nutshell, and explained by a non-expert moron, the way we saw genes wasn't the whole picture... there's this whole 'nother level of ..stuff.. proteins and other molecules and shit.. that actually CONTROL which genes are "activated" and which aren't... fair enough, that doesn't sound too out there.

This is what got to me though... these controlling stuff? What they call EPIgenetics, as in OVER the genetics... shift over time. Our actual genetic code, or its function at least, is not permanent but in a constant state of flux.... and it's changed by what we eat, drink, smoke.. and even LIVE.

People.. life EXPERIENCES have an actual, quantifiable, real effect on our GENES.

Seriously... am I the only one who finds that... just... damn.

There's this whole other plethora of jaw-dropping stuff (like the conditions of your grandfather's childhood having an effect on YOUR life expectancy) but I just had to ask the resident forum doctors about epigenetics, cause... fuck.

Also, everyone watch "Ghost in your Genes". A Nova-BBC documentary thingie which is, seriously, literally awesome. In the awe-inspiring sense.

(if you don't know how to get your hands on it, PM me and I *might* be able to solve that with a certain, uh... y'know.. PM response content :D)
Click to expand...
I saw the documentary but already knew a lot about this stuff. The reason it isn't everywhere is because it is cutting edge stuff. The paint is still drying on this stuff it is so new. Don't get me wrong. People have been working on this for a while but the field is only just beginning to really take off. This is wave of the future stuff too. It is going to change how people think about raising their kids and, more importantly, treating their own bodies because our life choices turn out to have a lasting impact on our grandchildren's epigenetic program.
 
Calleja

Calleja

The fact that they were able to completely prevent a genetic disorder from being inherited by 100% of a litter of rats from their genetically-diseased mother... just by looking at the mother's twin but healthy sister, identifying what was turning the sick gene off in the healthy twin, and then just giving the mother a diet rich in that....... this is exciting stuff.

Seriously, I now wish I was born 50 years later... just so I get to see this having a big impact.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
It's Calleja! *hug* I missed you!

Still in the process of reading your post, I just wanted to say that. :D
 
Calleja

Calleja

Well, phil, it means that, maybe ,the sperm your body is creating will forever be affected by this potato and cause your GRANDchildren to get diabetes or something.

And I'm only sort-of-joking.

Also, HI CG! :D

and also, also... "Epigene Hackman"? NO ONE? REALLY?! Sheesh.
 
S

Soliloquy

Wait... your genes change based on what you do in life? So this means your actions change your genetic code, which itself gets passed on to your offspring?

Holy Crap! You know what this means?

 
phil

phil

If generations of Irish drunkenness hasn't don't it yet, this potato ain't gunna be what tips the scale.

EPIGENETICS DISPROVED
 
Calleja

Calleja

Fuck Lamarck, this means that a lot of what Freud thought was just our psyche is actually our GENES.

Your mother didn't hug you enough as a baby? It can cause your epigenetics to block the gene that would have prevented you from getting diabetes.

Enjoy the life-long insulin doses, compliments of mommy dearest.
 
P

Pojodan

The voices in my head were right!


But in all seriousness, this is pretty cool
 
Calleja

Calleja

Another shocking moment in the documentary: they took 2 sets of identical twins, two 6 year old boys and 2 70-year old ladies, took a genetic sample from each, and compared them to their sibling.

The 6 year olds had almost the exact same gene behavior, minus a few differences here and there. The old lady twins? Their genes were behaving radically different.

Keep in mind that these are people that are almost literally clones of one another, the exact same genetic structure coming from the same fecundation of the same sperm and the same egg, being raised by the same parents.

So what once was the "nature vs nurture" debate has now become the "nature vs. nurture vs. nurtured nature" debate.


I just wrote that last one on my own. Quote me if you use it, cause it's awesome, if I say so myself.

---------- Post added at 11:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 PM ----------

And to answer your question, phil, I keep using diabetes cause that's the clear co-relation they found in the documentary. This old swedish town has kept detailed medical and harvest records for hundreds of years, a rarity, which resulted in one of the documentary's wildest moments.

They found direct co-relation between the diet of the grandfather (whether there was famine or plenty when he was growing up) and the probability of diabetes in the grandchildren.

Transgenerational they kept calling it. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EAT WHILE YOU WERE GROWING UP!?" is what I kept yelling at my grandpa when I called him immediately afterward.
 
T

ThatNickGuy

Well hell, that makes sense. I mean, if I go mudding with a new pair of jeans, yeah, they're going to be forever changed. But if I treat those jeans like precious gold, wash them properly and...

...oh, you said GENES.
 
Shakey

Shakey

So, I haven't seen it and I'm kinda in the dark, but.

If you live a healthy life and pass those healthy ideas down to your kids they will have less health issues. If you like to eat and drink too much and your kids eat and drink too much they will become drunk diabetics. Right?

Am I missing something or is this really not that new? What you do in your life, good or bad, affects your life in a good or bad way.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

I think you are over-stating things. Emotions and hugs are not going to change "genes." Your genetic code stay relatively intact throughout your life. You have error-checking enzymes that ensures your code stays relatively the same.

Epigenetics is simply the turning off/on of genes which in turn changes a phenotype.

While interesting, I think that genetic recombination with viruses may be the way of the future with genetic therapies. At least, if they can prevent it from causing cancer.
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Michael Crichton would have a field day with this 'un.

Interesting stuff, though I must admit it goes a little over my BA, hasn't-studied-biology-in-almost-a-decade noggin.
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Calleja said:
So what once was the "nature vs nurture" debate has now become the "nature vs. nurture vs. nurtured nature" debate.


I just wrote that last one on my own. Quote me if you use it, cause it's awesome, if I say so myself.
Click to expand...
I will do so... but only if you will promote my new verb, which is "schtoinking", as in "I schtoinked your sister last night. Hope she's on protection".

Considering your reputation as our resident "schtoinker", I expect to have this word in the Merriam-Webster by... next Monday.
 
I

Iaculus

I'll take the organic flamethrower. You guys can have the bee-hands.
 
S

Singularity.EXE

*Looks at the coke he's drinking*
*Looks at the ingredients of the coke he's drinking.*
*shrugs*

Sorry kids, granddaddy's thirsty here and now.

*Poisons future generations*
 
Jake

Jake

drawn_inward said:
I think you are over-stating things. Emotions and hugs are not going to change \"genes.\" Your genetic code stay relatively intact throughout your life. You have error-checking enzymes that ensures your code stays relatively the same.
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He's talking about epigenetic alteration, not changes in base sequence. And don't be so sure emotions and hugs won't have epigenetic effects. It was recently found that social isolation in rats alters gene expression leading to increased tumor growth.
 
Fun Size

Fun Size

Hey baby, you can walk away, but remember, you're not just turning me down, you could be hurting future generations of people.

Won't somebody think of the children?
 
J

JCM

Will watch it, the subject of manipulating one´s genes and its affecting your offspring is pretty interesting.
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Singularity.EXE said:
*Looks at the coke he's drinking*
*Looks at the ingredients of the coke he's drinking.*
*shrugs*

Sorry kids, granddaddy's thirsty here and now.

*Poisons future generations*
Click to expand...
This worries me too. It kinda motivates me to try and do away with soda. At least try and embrace coffee instead. Ugh.
 
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