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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: BioTechniques
http://biotechniques.com/news/Trauma-inherited-via-epigenetics/biotechniques-304127.html?utm_source=BioTechniques+Newsletters+%26+e-Alerts&utm_campaign=0ed5d4b868-BioTechniques_Daily&utm_medium=email
The unhealthy behavior exhibited by mice who were subjected to emotional stress during the early post-natal stage was passed down to their offspring, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH). Because previous studies have identified a similar inheritance process in humans, researchers are searching for ways to counteract these epigenetic effects.
Previous researchers have theorized that behaviors induced by traumatic experiences could pass between humans and their offspring through epigenetic modifications—that is, changes that regulate gene expression without changing the DNA sequence of an organism. These theories were based on only on observations of families with a history of behavioral disorders and groups who were disposed to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), so the link between behavior and biology had not been extensively explored.
UZH researchers attempted to understand this link by testing whether unhealthy behavior that resulted from traumatic experiences could be passed from one generation of mice to the next. The researchers choose to work with mice instead of humans; because social interaction and learned behavior is so robust, the causes for unhealthy human behavior are difficult to separate between biological and social factors.
Researchers subjected a cohort of male mice to unpredictable maternal separation and unpredictable maternal stress (MSUS) during the first two weeks of post-natal life. As adults, these mice were subjected to a series of well-established tasks and behavioral markers that detected social incompetency, impulsivity, and depression. These stressed males were then bred with normal females, who were left raise their pups under normal, non-stressful, conditions. When these second-generation pups became adults, they showed the similar unhealthy behavioral patterns to their fathers. Since the males had no contact with the pups, the results suggest that the behavior was passed down through epigenetic factors.
"We still observe these depressive, impulsive, and social alterations in the third generation, which is absolutely very firm evidence that it's in the genes—in the germline—and not transmitting behaviorally," said Mansuy, professor of molecular and cellular neuroscience at the Brain Research Institute at UZH who lead the study.
The researchers are now trying to find effective drugs treatments to reduce these inherited behaviors, testing gene-regulating drugs on mouse models to identify the relevant genes with altered methylation. But they also are testing an alternative treatment: environmental enrichment with toys, enjoyable activities, and positive social groups.
"We have observed already that this [environemental enrichment] can reverse some of the depressive symptoms," said Mansuy. "Perhaps the epigenetic mechanism can also be corrected by this."
The paper, "Epigenetic transmission of the impact of early stress across generations," was published Sep. 1, 2010 in Biol Psychiatry.
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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