Part 1: Hank Green Epigenetics Video
“Can Your Environment Affect Your DNA? | Epigenetics Explained”
Epigenetics - Expression of DNA
- Epi - Above, Genetics - Genes
- Epigenetics means “Above Genetisc”
Does not change DNA, but changes whether or how much DNA is expressed
- Epigenetics means “Above Genetisc”
Epigenetics Mechanism
Methyl Groups - DNA instructions made from hydrogen and carbon
- Bind to a gene and say ‘do not express this gene’
Histones - Spools that DNA winds around. Proteins can change how tightly/loosely DNA is wrapped. - More tight, less expressed. Looser expressed more
Methyl Groups: Switch
Histones: Knob
Genome/DNA is the hardware, Epigenetics is the software
- Genome does the work
- Epigenome tells the DNA what to do
Epigenome Modification
Lifestyle affects this. Stress, exercise, diet, etc. Bad diet can cause methyl groups binding to wrong groups and causing problems.
Epigenome Heredity
Some epigenetic expression is not stripped between generations.
‘Your grandmothers bad diet choices could be affecting you today’
- Even if the DNA is all the same, the epigenetic expression of a life lived well/bad could be very distinct
Some bad epigenetics information can cause cancer, treatments being developed
Epigenetics heridity is also another confound on top of environment. Successful people’s “good genes” could be even more similar than we thought to unsuccessful people, and be seperated by epigenetic expression
Mixed-Up Brothers of Bogota
NYT Magazine
Two identical twins who don’t know each other (William and Jorge)
Then Jorge’s fraternal twin Carlos, identical twin of him too
William and fraternal Wilber
Of identical twins
One unexpected finding in his research suggested that the effect of a pair’s shared environment - say, their parents - had little bearing on personality. Genes and unique eperiences - a semested abroad, an important friend - were more influential.
- This is such a daring assertion, i’d love to hear more
On average, the researchers found, any particular trait or disease in an individual is about 50 percent influenced by environment and 50 percent influenced by genes.
Running thoughts
It’s VERY interesting how its never mentioned how the environment can affect the brain and it’s development. Not everything is in your genes, obviously things like memories are different, but one step further when it comes to things like beliefs we start to be surprised when the twins are different. Its more surprising they’d be similar than for them to be different, growing up so differently.