I see the Awesomeness.
A better term might be "activating" them.
If it's something other than what I'm thinking of, I'd appreciate a link.
edited 2nd Nov '10 8:37:23 AM by Deboss
Fight smart, not fair.
they don't really go into much, because it is a research project that has not started yet. Can you go into more what you mean by "activating them".
One just might
"Activating" is a better term for turning on a gene.
If a chicken crosses the road and nobody else is around to see it, does the road move beneath the chicken instead?
most likely what they meant. It was a student paper mind you.
I see the Awesomeness.
A specific memory causes the brain to release a hormone that causes a set of genes to activate that was inactive before. I'm completely guessing from half remembered things I read on wikipedia though.
Fight smart, not fair.
I get the activating part, but what kind of genes would these be.
I see the Awesomeness.
Most likely growth thingies. Or some kind of response to the environment like "dude, it's fuckin' cold, collect more blubber" or some such.
It's not going to be "sufficient food collected, activating laser vision".
edited 2nd Nov '10 9:44:49 AM by Deboss
Fight smart, not fair.
well, I guess I did understand then. With all the enthusiasm in the article I thought that there was something more to it.
I see the Awesomeness.
If they're trying to get funding, enthusiasm is to be expected.
Fight smart, not fair.
Yep, it's epigenetics.
Q: Before my wife and I had our child, I read a few studies on epigenetics, concentrating on studies dealing with dietary methyl donors. We both took supplements before trying to get pregnant, and we both continued to take them while pregnant. When my daughter was born, she came out with blond hair and blue eyes, nothing like ours. All of her teachers have said that she learns extremely quickly compared to others and has a fantastic memory. Could our consuming simple nutrients have provided such physical and intellectual attributes? Britt E., Little Rock, Arkansas
Q: Can a person manipulate his or her environment in such a way as to maximize his or her IQ and minimize his or her genetic disposition for mental illness? Also, have scientists been able to reverse a negative gene expression brought on by epigenetics such as the one expressed in the twin mice? Anonymous
Jirtle: Choline supplementation during pregnancy in rats increases learning ability, enhances synaptic function, and offers protection from neurotoxicity (Li, Q., J. Neurophysiol. 91: 1545-1555, 2004). These effects of choline on neurological function most likely involve altered gene expression and associated changes in nerve cell growth and differentiation mediated by epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation. Although the animal data on choline and hippocampal development are compelling, studies are needed to determine whether choline supplementation during pregnancy has the same effect in humans. (For review see: Zeisel, S.H., J. Pediatr. 149 [Suppl. 5]: S131-5136, 2006.) It is unknown if food supplements or epigenetic drug therapy in adulthood can reverse an epigenetically regulated negative effect on neural function in humans.
Who Am I?
We always knew that the effect of experience vs. that of inheritance inextricably interact with each other, this adds more detail. I yearn for the day when popular journalism stops referring to "Nature vs. Nurture". Get over it already.
"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."
OMG NO NOSECONES
High altitude living? Grow more capillaries in your lungs to improve gas transfer efficiency. Go back to lower altitudes, lose the extra capillaries.
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.
I've heard some fascinating stories about epigenetics when I took biopsychology. For example, there were two diseases that had the exact same genetic marker - one only appeared in children who, as an embryo, had been outside a womb environment (IVF babies), otherwise it was the other. It seems the embryo was fragile enough that the hostile environment flipped an epigenetic switch.
A few minutes on wiki says it's Angelman Syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome, caused by a partial deletion of Chromasome 15. However, the video I saw might have been out of date or something- it specifically mentioned IVF, but all I'm seeing is "maternal copy" vs "paternal copy" of the gene.
edited 2nd Nov '10 4:37:14 PM by Yamikuronue
BTW, I'm a chick.
I was reading a article about a new research project and was confused. The project was about how the brain permanently changes when it gains long term memories, but then this article got confusing when it said these memories changes can effect genes, specifically by tuning them on or off.
Can someone explain this to me.