Epigenetics and the Environment

IDENTICAL TWINS: PINPOINTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE

EPIGENOME

1 and 2- Identical twins are exactly the same when they are first fertilized, with the exact same genomes. Because they will most likely have the same home environment early in life, there will not be much of a change with their physical appearence. Diet, toxins, exercize, and other environmental factors play a part in the changing epigenome. As life goes on, outside choices influence the shape of each twin's epigenome, and impact their physical appearence.

3- An imprinted gene are genes whose expression is determined by the parents who contributed to the fertilization of the egg.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR EPIGENOME

1- Factors that could be effecting my epigenome could be diet, stress involving family life, school, etc., being exposed to toxins such as second-hand smoke. Others could be excersize, and more.

LICK YOUR RATS

1- A high nurturing mother will lick their rat pups more often then a low nurturing mother. The pups respond to the licks in a strange manner. Their GR gene begins to become more and more active. By doing this, is changes the way the pups respond to stress. If they have an active GR gene, they will get over stress more easily than an inactive GR gene.

2- Licking by the mother will activate the pups GR gene.

3- During the "Flight of Flight" responce, the hormone cortisol is released into the blood stream of the rat. The cortisol responds the the GR protein causing the cells to send out calming signals. Rats who have a lot of GR protein relax quickly after stress.

4- The nurtured and un-nurtured rats can relate to humans and their interactions with others because if a young human grows up in an unloving family life, they will most likely treat their offspring the same way. Because that is how they were raised, they do not know any other way. If their parents make bad choices and influence drugs and other toxins, they will most likely grow up smoking, of using another type of toxin.

NUTRITION & THE EPIGENOME

1- Diets high in folic acid, B vitamins and SAM-e nutrients can change gene expression, especially during early stages of development when the epigenome is first being established.

2- A mother's diet during pregnancy can change critical things about the offspings epigenome that can last into adulthood. The father's diet and whether is effects the offspring as well is being debated. However, in a small Swedish community, studies have shown that the food sortages or alot of food for the paternal grandfather can effects the lifespans of his grandchilren.

EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN

1-The food we eat effects gene expression by

2- The diets of parents effect the pffspings genome becasue