Epigenetic Mechanisms

Epigenetics is a study that entails the heritage changes in gene expressions, which includes both the active and the inactive genes; the changes do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence. Meaning, it is a change in phenotypes without the differences in genotypes and consequently, affect how the cells read the genes. The epigenetic modification is a natural occurrence but apparently can be influenced by other several factors, including diseases, the environment, and age. Epigenetic changes can result in adverse damages and can end up causing infections such as cancer (Barton et al, 2016). This paper looks at what epigenetics entails, the hidden life of our genes, how food affects genes and how one can elongate life by improving health status.

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.

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.

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:

Epigenetics can be defined as a way of turning on and off certain genes in your body, which as evidence has shown, we have a lot more control of than we thought. The video on epigenetics was so great, I did not have a clear idea of what epigenetics was. Watching the video really enlightens how far we have come in research of the human body. I find the advancements that have been made using epigenetics with cancer to be one of the best sections of the thirteen minute video. Just knowing the fact that half of the patients that complied with the research whom had cancer to begin with are now in remission is a great accomplishment. I also found the fact that we have more control over our epigenes, we are to modify our own genes by just following

The mother rats that nurture their pups they grow up to be calm adults, while the mother rats that neglect their pups they grow up to be anxious. The difference in behaviour is an example of epigenetics, because the nurturing behaviour of a mother rat during the first week of life shapes the pup’s epigenomes. These epigenetic patterns that the mother established remain even when the pups become adults.

I conducted an intriguing research on the relationship between epigenetics and psychiatric disorders. It is known that epigenomes are affected by environmental surroundings which can cause life changing results as we age. Also, a mother’s maternal behavior inspires the stress

We inherit our gene structure from our parents. Past studies have shown that the embryo received only from DNA. However, studies throughout the years have shown this to be incorrect. Not only do we inherit DNA from our parents we also can inherit any epigenetics that they may have as well.

To understand epigenetics and transgenerational epigenetics in greater detail we need to obtain a clearer picture of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Lim and Brunet (2013) revealed that environmental stimuli can influence the chromatin structure by noncoding RNAs- including siRNA (small interfering RNA, worm), piRNA ((Piwi-interacting RNA, worm and fly), viRNA (small interfering RNAs derived from virus, worm), miRNA (micro RNA, mice)- DNA methylation (mice, rat) and histone modification (with the help of Histone methyltransferase poteins)- H3K4me2/3 (worm), H3K36me3 (worm), H3K36me3 (worm, fly), H3K9me2/3 (worm, fly), H3K27me3 (mice, human). Prion proteins might also play role (yeast). These changes might influence the metabolics, which changes the expression of different chemicals and are themselves potential environmental stress factors; thus, they could initiate epigenomic changes. Chromatin modifications

Epigenetics is the correlation between our lifestyle choices and our overall wellbeing. Choices that we can control such was what we eat, the amount of exercise, and how we manage our stress will affect whether genes will be expressed or silent. Expressed genes are those that are active while silent genes are inactive. Genes are permanently expressed while epigenes can change with time. These epigenes are effected by lifestyle choices and environmental factors. An example of how an epigene can change over time would be the expression of diabetes. An individual could be predisposed to the condition but is making healthy eating and exercise decisions so that epigene may not expressed. That same person may start making poor decisions later

Feinberg in 1983 was the first to observe changes in methylation of DNA in cancer, however it was originally thought that disturbances in the cell cycle are responsible for all these change, perhaps an effect and not the cause, of malignancy.3 Molecular research for the last two decades has been principally oriented towards genetic changes as the basis for cancer. Techniques such as heterozygosity loss in chromosome regions containing tumour suppressor genes, microsatellite instability or identification of individual gene mutations have been widely reported in the field of oral cancer.4 Whilst giving an insight into the processes underlying cancer, genetic information exploration can be of great help in delivering

Although not often discuessed in grade school, evolutionary mechanisms span further than simply the inheritance of “A-T-C-G” DNA nucleotides from our parents. Epigenetics is a specialized field within genetics that focuses on the evolutionary changes induced by genetic factors, such as transposons, and how they can cause an alteration of gene expression and disease. The study of the human epigenome is still relatively new, and exponentially advancing. With this being said, researchers still have questions regarding this complex evolutionary mechanism's implications in microevolution, and potentially macroevolution (Skinner, 2015).

They wanted to know whether the methylation patterns among the children who have suffered from abusive parenting mirrored the effects observed among the rodents who did not have adequate maternal care (Romens 305). They concluded that, “if precise epigenetics changes appear across species following poor parental care, then it would reveal a specific molecular mechanism, whereby social experience confers risk of psychopathology” (Romen 305). The method used for participants was random sampling in which the participants were recruited through newspaper ads, bus ads, and flyers in the communities. They chose 56 children, 30 males and 26 females. Written assent and consent were obtained for all children and parents as well as receiving permission for the researchers to access Child Protective Services records on their families. During testing, genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood and converted for methylation sequencing. After the DNA underwent bisulfite pyrosequencing, the researchers conducted independent sample t-tests and Pearson chi-square tests to see whether or not maltreatment groups differed in sex, age, race, and SES. The results were that children with a history of maltreatment did not differ in these categories than the children without a history of maltreatment. On the other hand, the children with histories of maltreatment had families with lower SES and they had more methylation at CpG site 3 and CpG site 7 and less methylation at CpG site 2. It was revealed that children who experienced maltreatment displayed an epigenetic change to the glucocorticoid receptor gene and had more methylation of several sites within exon 1F of the NR3C1 promoter region. Unfortunately, the study could not address causality or the cellular processes occurring within the brains of living children (Romens 307). Because of the