Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children's genes

New finding is first example in humans of the theory of epigenetic inheritance: the idea that environmental factors can affect the genes of your children. Genetic changes stemming from the trauma suffered by Holocaust survivors are capable of being passed on to their children, the clearest sign yet that one person’s life experience can affect subsequent generations. The conclusion from a research team at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital led by Rachel Yehuda stems from the genetic study of 32 Jewish men and women who had either been interned in a Nazi concentration camp, witnessed or experienced torture or who had had to hide during the second world war. They also analysed the genes of their children, who are known to have increased likelihood of stress disorders, and compared the results with Jewish families who were living outside of Europe during the war. “The gene changes in the children could only be attributed to Holocaust exposure in the parents,” said Yehuda.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/21/study-of-holocaust-survivors-finds-trauma-passed-on-to-childrens-genes

Load of pants!

There are loads of cases where children have had parents who've had a bad upbringing or bad experiences and the children have been just fine!

Perhaps the stories have been passed down and gone over so many times that it has made a negative impression on the younger generations - I'll accept that as a possibility.

Load of pants?
You base that view on what exactly Eddie?
Have you even read the study?

Nope. And don't intend to.
It's going to tell me, but in detailed waffle and science, what the title says.

I don't buy it. Sorry.

So you do not buy it.
That does not mean this doea not have merit and that we show further widen the research.

Well,put it this way; it's not infallible is it?
It's just someone's findings based on some people.

There are lots more people who are NOT traumatised by their parent's traumas.

Indeed its not proof Eddie and hence why I stated it needs further research and not just based off this one aspect in history. I am just ands remain open on this, meaning I neither agree with or disagree with until there is more evidence either way.

Cuchulain wrote:Indeed its not proof Eddie and hence why I stated it needs further research and not just based off this one aspect in history. I am just ands remain open on this, meaning I neither agree with or disagree with until there is more evidence either way.

Fair enough. Can't argue with that!
That's my opinion on most things Didge.

I suppose it's an interesting idea. 32 is too small a study to have any validity.
Even if it was proven, what good use would it serve?

Nems wrote:I suppose it's an interesting idea. 32 is too small a study to have any validity.
Even if it was proven, what good use would it serve?

To see if other children are effected by events previously faced by their parents.
It would show some children may need extra help being if this effects them genetically from the start.
Hence why further research is needed.

Right have to go as off out

I read a lot about this earlier today and Edds, I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly -- it's a very interesting development in genetics.

You know DNA is the code that governs how cells will grow. It turns out another factor is the epigenetic system, which is influenced by the environment and tells cells how to interpret DNA.

It was previously believed that any effect the epigenetic system had on DNA was removed before being transmitted during reproduction -- in effect, your genetic material is simply a random mix of whatever genetic material each of your parents was born with, unaltered by the epigenetic system.

Now studies are showing that not all epigenetic changes to genes are removed by the reproductive system -- there is a chance that an epigenetic gene change one or both of your parents underwent in life was transmitted to you.

There are other studies besides this one -- one found a 50 percent higher chance of schizophrenia in the children of Dutch women who were nearly starved during the 1944 famine.

It's oddly enough lending new credence to a theory by the French biologist LaMarck who thought that, in the classic example, short-necked giraffes stretching their necks to reach high leaves caused their offspring to be born with longer necks. It's looking as though it's at least possible for changes that your body goes through during your life to be genetically inherited by your children.

Ben_Reilly wrote:I read a lot about this earlier today and Edds, I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly -- it's a very interesting development in genetics.

You know DNA is the code that governs how cells will grow. It turns out another factor is the epigenetic system, which is influenced by the environment and tells cells how to interpret DNA.

It was previously believed that any effect the epigenetic system had on DNA was removed before being transmitted during reproduction -- in effect, your genetic material is simply a random mix of whatever genetic material each of your parents was born with, unaltered by the epigenetic system.

Now studies are showing that not all epigenetic changes to genes are removed by the reproductive system -- there is a chance that an epigenetic gene change one or both of your parents underwent in life was transmitted to you.

There are other studies besides this one -- one found a 50 percent higher chance of schizophrenia in the children of Dutch women who were nearly starved during the 1944 famine.

It's oddly enough lending new credence to a theory by the French biologist LaMarck who thought that, in the classic example, short-necked giraffes stretching their necks to reach high leaves caused their offspring to be born with longer necks. It's looking as though it's at least possible for changes that your body goes through during your life to be genetically inherited by your children.

An excellent post like this shows why you have rightly earned obtaining the 300 mark for reputation Ben.

Great Post and why I am open to many ideas.

Whoa, didn't see my rep had gone that high -- thanks! To everyone.