Genome study is a relatively new science, and for ordinary people there is a lot of mystery in it. Who knows what can be found there in the long twisted spirals, maybe there really are areas responsible for nationality, for example? Understanding complex research takes knowledge, patience and time. And the results of serious science are not so spectacular, there are many fundamental reservations. As modern users of a knowledge-saturated space, we want vivid examples and clear solutions. Therefore, more and more attention is being drawn today to this part of the research that reviews ingrained ideas about the fate of genetic inheritance, namely epigenetics.
What is it? Quite simply, this is part of scientific research that studies the shell of a DNA chain. And it turned out to be very interesting to study it, because as it turns out, these proteins, called the epigenome, are responsible for the adaptation of genes. That is, it is this structure that makes genes flexible, variable, activating some genes and putting others to sleep. The gene set we inherit from our parents does not change, it remains the same as at birth, but there is a fine-tuning mechanism that accompanies all our relationships with the environment.
It seems that our lifestyle not only determines our individual destiny, but can also change the information our children and grandchildren receive at the genetic level. Even simpler – the health of future generations largely depends on us. The choice will be longevity and a strong nervous system, or your family tradition of heart attacks and diabetes – it’s up to you. So the genes we inherited from our ancestors can literally be improved or worsened in a human lifetime. And if so, then this is of course a sensation.
Genes constantly produce many chemical reactions, this is called gene expression. It makes plastic genetic, that is, the basic structure of a biological organism. Our lifestyles are triggered by changing our DNA – in a very inexplicable way – by turning some traits on and off others. And this fine-tuning of DNA is inherited. And some experiments show the frightening possibilities of this type of inheritance.
Intelligent young people, mostly engaged in programming (i.e., reducing the diversity of the world to binary codes), quickly realized that if the genetic underpinnings were so obviously susceptible to influence, it could be radically improved with the right tuning. For this purpose, rejuvenation programs, fashionable diets and nutritional supplements are developed, chemical effects are carried out on the body in the hope of complete recovery, getting rid of all diseases and even slowing down aging. But everything is not so simple. Scientists do not yet know exactly how this process is controlled. In essence, only one thing is clear – it can be influenced from the outside. However, as they say, we knew it even without science on an everyday level.
It has now been scientifically proven that the deep stress experienced by the mother during pregnancy will predispose the child to anxiety, depression and nervous disorders. And the famine your grandmothers endured may be the cause of your current obesity, as well as diabetes and atherosclerosis. That is, some of a person’s personal experience is still inherited.
One of the most striking experiments was carried out due to tragic circumstances. At the end of the Second World War, the Netherlands suffered a famine. In the autumn of 1944, Germany blocked all food supplies to the eastern region of the Netherlands, where at that time more than 2 million people lived. Food supplies were rapidly depleting, and the famine lasted for five months. The overall picture of the disaster was extremely critical. There was no electricity or gas. There weren’t enough clothes and shoes, the laundry didn’t work, there was no soap, but most importantly, there wasn’t enough food. All stocks are gone, even all kinds of tulip bulbs are eaten. Potatoes and bread were distributed centrally, soup was given to children and pregnant women, but the daily amount of food fell to less than 1,000 kcal/day in January 1945 and only 500 kcal/day in April. In the winter of 1945, the death rate doubled. The famine only ended with the arrival of Allied troops in May.
The five-month hunger strike in a very well-fed country before and after the population made possible very interesting research on both the adults who survived this winter and the children born during and after the famine. It has been revealed that the risk of developing cardiovascular, metabolic, psychiatric diseases and obstructive pulmonary diseases is increased in babies whose mothers experience hunger during late and mid-term pregnancy. And those whose mothers starved in the first half of their pregnancy were much more likely to be obese as adults.
However, these results did not coincide with those made in studies of residents of Leningrad, who suffered from scarcity of the blockade in the perinatal state. Studies were conducted on a sample of three groups, which included people born and survivors before the blockade; those who had a blockade in the womb; and those living in the unenclosed territory, their peers. Studies have found no difference in the risks of vascular disease between these groups. It is not clear to me personally how much you can rely on these studies, but scientists explain the difference by the fact that the Dutch famine arose suddenly before and after against the background of good food, and the exhaustion of the Soviet people lasted for a long time. . Therefore, perhaps the problems are more related to the abrupt transition from lack of food to adequate nutrition during pregnancy than to starvation. Thus, the long-term consequences of acute and chronic malnutrition can differ significantly, and chronic starvation leads to the creation of the so-called “thrifty phenotype”, and most harmful of all is the sharp imbalance of consumption – this is what leads. to metabolic disorders.
However, of course, what does all this mean for us ordinary people who are interested in popular science, but for whom their own behavior and risk are more important? If you do not want your children to suffer from obesity, metabolic disorders, hypertension and diabetes, do not indulge in diets, long-term fasting courses, do not expose your body to the following stresses: The high dose will likely remember this and pass it on to your grandchildren. Most likely there is also the reverse setting, but we don’t know about it. On the contrary, we know, but not more from scientific research than from life practice – moderation and stability of consumption are beneficial for any organism.
Hunger is not the only negative factor. The stress of war, violence, oppression is no less offensive. DNA studies of Holocaust survivors have been done, and it turns out that their children’s DNA bears traces of parental trauma: they activated a gene associated with the development of depression, and it can be so assumed that parental disaster causes children to respond more strongly to the challenges of their own lives. replied. Of course, fear, anxiety, violence were always considered aggravating situations that did not improve the future in any way, but it was believed that the hardships were getting worse, but everything turned out to be just the opposite. Parental stress reduces offspring resistance.
The good news is that all these changes in genome settings are mainly maternally inherited, and although it is not possible to completely eliminate the male influence, they are still minor, so nature is protected from inheriting their trauma. war in which men used to participate.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.
Source: Gazeta
