Epigenetic Essay

As a human get older, many of the organs will deteriorate and lost the functions. Out of all of the organs, our brains are extremely vulnerable to the process of aging. In the article of “Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice”, the researchers leaded by Saul Villeda in University of California, San Francisco, focus on the study of physical and functional property of the hippocampus in mice. Hippocampus manages the learning and memory process. However, it is extremely sensitive to aging and shows many down regulations as the brain ages. The study had also revealed the important role of Creb, which maintain hippocampus properly functional and healthy. Two different assays were used to study the role of Creb in the cognitive function and synaptic plasticity which includes testing hippocampus-related memorizing and learning processes and measuring the dendritic spine number and synaptic plasticity.

Epigenetics is the future of science. It has evolved from being a science that very few believed in, to one that will shape medicine as it is known. As the Human Genome Project began, the goal was to determine which genes controlled what phenotypes in a human. After all the genes were identified and mapped, the expression of the genes that the scientists had just discovered was also beginning to be analyzed (EPIGENETICS). Although every gene had been identified and associated with a function, there were genes that if not expressed or not turned on, would create a different scenario. That is, the idea that the genotype of an individual would determine their phenotype was reinforced. Epigenetics however is the study of the switching on or off of the genes responsible for a particular action (Feinberg). For example, all of the organs of a single person have the exact same DNA as the others, yet a lung looks drastically different from a kidney. This is due to the expression of the genes responsible for creating a specific organ. If scientists are able to control the switching on and off of these genes, then many extraordinary possibilities exist.

The possibilities offered by this new type of battery would indeed be considerable. From the smartphone to the tablet, via laptop, GPS or car, all energy consuming mobile power products and requiring regular refills could benefit from the advantages of this new combination. Moreover, these batteries could also be used at much larger scale than the charging alone phones or computers and storing electricity produced by renewable sources such as wind turbines or solar and tidal power.

Do people have control over their sexual orientation? Many people believe they were born without a choice. In other words, some people believe they were predestined to be homosexual. Homosexuality is defined as the romantic/sexual attraction between members of the same sex. Currently, the cause of homosexuality has not been determined although many speculations have been made. The cause of homosexuality has been disputed for many years. One could argue homosexuality is caused by hormones, genes and/or a type of social deviance. This research paper will offer another alternative. Specifically, it will argue that homosexuality is caused by epigenetics.

The most compelling piece of information that I read from the article "Epigenetics: Its What Turns You On...and Off" (Schardt, 2013) is how children born from the same mother, before gastric bypass surgery and after the surgery, had different patterns of epigenetic marks than their siblings. It would not have crossed my mind that being overweight would actually have an affect on your genes, that could be passed down to your offspring. Researchers have also reported that the gene IGF2 was more turned on in those born to obese fathers, which might increase the risk of becoming overweight in adulthood (Schardt, 2013). So they chances that a child becomes overweight is on both parents and not just one.

Thesis: Individuals that have experienced traumatic events or are put into high stress environments are prone to having their epigenetics modified which can be passed down to offspring. The altered genes can induce people to becoming much more vulnerable to depression and anxiety as a result. While there isn't a way to “cure” intergenerational trauma there are ways to cope with it.

In the paper “Epigenetic Factors and Autism Spectrum Disorders,” epigenetics is defined as the study of the mechanisms in which genes are silenced or expressed as various phenotypes. Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are considered complex neurodevelopmental disorders. The article primarily focuses on the etiology and the epigenetic effects that possibly play a role in the development of the disorders. In the case of monozygotic twins, if one child shows symptoms of autism, there is a great likelihood both will show symptoms, which proposes a possible genetic link. However, the diagnosis of autism and ASDs is complex and the symptoms can vary, even for identical twins. Symptoms of autism and ASDs are also often comparable to symptoms

Researchers first thought the genes you receive from your parents are set in stone since they are made of a genetic code set in our DNA sequence;however, they are discovering that there is a second layer of structure that combines with DNA to decide whether or not a gene is active or not, called the epigenome. The epigenome consists of the DNA, histones, a protein DNA is wrapped around, and chemical tags. The epigenome alters the genetic code by directing signals. The signals come from the environment, which are reacted upon by epigenetic tags to turn a gene either on or off without affecting the DNA sequence. Certain things from our environment that send signals to epigenetic tags to change our genes in the epigenome includes the following:

A roadmap to our future is predetermined by our genetical makeup. However, can external influences such as environment and lifestyle unlock who we are? The study to understand heritable changes in genetical expression is called Epigenetics. Héctor González-Pardo and Marino Pérez Álvarez(2013) describes Epigenetics as the examination of the heritable complex genetical alterations that are shaped by environmental factors which don’t cause changes to the DNA Sequence. In other words, different cell/organism must use the same script in different ways. The study of epigenetics explores the idea that DNA is a script and not a manual. Accordingly, we can positively influence our lives as well as the lives of our offspring by leading a healthy lifestyle.

Hippocampus is a small, curved region, which exists in both hemispheres of the brain and plays a vital role in emotions, learning and acquisition of new information. It also contributes majorly to long term memory, which is permanent information stored in the brain. Although long term memory is the last information that can be forgotten, its impairment has become very common nowadays. The dysfunction is exemplified by many neurological disorders such as amnesia. There are two types of amnesia, anterograde and retrograde. Anterograde amnesia is inability in forming new information, while retrograde refers to the loss of the past memory. As suggested by Cipolotti and Bird (2006), hippocampus’s lesions are

Cognitive aging is commonly labeled strictly as memory and only found in “some people”. However, this is not true. The knowledge of cognitive aging has grown immensely, but there is still much to be learned. The surface has only been scratched with many more questions to be answered. Cognitive aging is worthy of study and effects everyone, but there is also much more is still to be learned.

Why does the human brain age? Brain aging is a part of human life and a big part of society as the awareness for brain aging increases. Over time memory tends to become less efficient as we age and the neurons in the brain decreases (Bendheim, P.E. (2009). By 2050 in the US, 20 percent of the population will be 65 years or older. And as the elderly population increases, so will the incidence of age-related neurological disorders (Perlmutter, David. (2004). Therefor it is important to understand the aging brain, and how to keep the brain functioning as one ages.

Scientists at the University of Kentucky resolved to explore an epigenetic change in the progression of a neuro-degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by the appearance of three key features in brain

To understand the cognitive changes, they further used contextual fear conditioning and radial arm water maze paradigms (RAWM) to study aging effect to hippocampus related learning and memory. Mice injected with young plasma had increased freezing response in contextual, but not cued, learning and showed significant improvement on fear memory. They also exhibited enhancement in learning and memory in finding hidden platform location. On the other hand, no change was observed for aged mice and aged mice injected with aged plasma. Interestingly, these effects were reduced by heat denaturation. Thus, the heat-labile factors from young blood may rejuvenate cognitive ability for the aged mice.