Epigenetics | The S File — Pregnancy

Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.

I first heard about epigenetics on a Dr. Oz show discussing pregnancy myths. He says that this new field of science epigenetics is finding that what happens in the womb can influence which genes are turned on and off. From a PBS special on epigenetics:

Epigenetics literally translates into just meaning above the genome. So if you would think, for example, of the genome as being like a computer, the hardware of a computer, the epigenome would be like the software that tells the computer when to work, how to work, and how much.

Randy Jirtle in Epigenetics on PBS (July 24, 2007)

In fact, its the epigenome that tells our cells what sort of cells they should be. Skin? Hair? Heart? You see, all these cells have the same genes. But their epigenomes silence the unneeded ones to make cells different from one another. Epigenetic instructions pass on as cells divide, but theyre not necessarily permanent. Researchers think they can change, especially during critical periods like puberty or pregnancy.

Neil Degrasse Tyson in Epigenetics on PBS (July 24, 2007)

Basically, what you eat can affect your future generations. So youre not only what you eat, but potentially what your mother ate, and possibly even what your grandparents ate.

Randy Jirtle in Epigenetics on PBS (July 24, 2007)

One of the main findings of our research is that epigenomes can change in function of what we eat, of what we smoke, of what we drink. And this is one of the key differences between epigenetics and genetics.

Manel Esteller in Epigenetics on PBS (July 24, 2007)

From the Dr. Oz website:

As DNA, the blueprint of your body, is rolled out during development, it gets copied. And while that copying occurs, the things you are experiencing what you eat, the toxins you are exposed to can stop that copy machine from working properly. This basic principal of epigenetics means that, while we cant control what genes we pass on to our children, we may be able to control which genes get turned on or turned off.

Heres another example that will help you put epigenetics in perspective. We share 99.8 percent of the same DNA as a monkey, and any two babies share 99.9 percent of the same DNA. Heck, we even have 50 percent of the same DNA as a banana. So genes alone cannot explain the diversity in the way we look, act, behave, and develop. How those genes are expressed plays a huge role in how vastly different we are from monkeys and how explicitly and subtly different we are from each other.

What you can do:

CAN YOU CONTROL WHICH GENES YOUR CHILD WILL EXPRESS?

ByDR. MICHAEL ROIZEN

While you cant control which genes you pass on to your child, you do have some influence over which genes are expressed, affecting what features are seen in your baby (his phenotype). In fact, what you eat, breathe, and even feel can affect the long-term health of your child.

Stressors in the mothers environment cause a change in the gene expression patterns of the fetus. That means the chemicals your baby is exposed to in utero, via the foods you eat and the cigarettes you dont inhale, serve as biological light switches in your babys development. On, off, on, off you decide how your childs genes are expressed, even as early as conception.

You dont have total control. We still dont know how you can change your babys eye color, or when his hair falls out. But we do know how to influence some really important factors like your childs weight or intelligence. So theres an important reason why were able to turn certain genes on and off. Our bodies have to adapt to a changing environment (thats how a species survives, after all). But our ability to adapt would be much too slow if we had to wait generations for our genes to change through random mutation (the classical theory of evolution).

Weve got to get people thinking more about what they do. They have a responsibility for their epigenome. Their genome they inherit. But their epigenome, they potentially can alter, and particularly that of their children. And that brings in responsibility, but it also brings in hope. Youre not necessarily stuck with this. You can alter this.

Randy Jirtle in Epigenetics on PBS (July 24, 2007)

Sources:

(1) Dr. Oz website

(2) Epigenetics on NOVA scienceNOW, Aired on PBS July 24, 2007.

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Epigenetics | The S File -- Pregnancy