Chemical
damage can be inherited by offspring through unlimited generations
Groundbreaking new science reveals that the harmful effects of exposure to synthetic chemicals are passed from generation to generation via "epigenetics," causing measurable damage to future generations even if those offspring are never exposed to the original chemical. The phenomenon of "Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance" (ETI) has now been demonstrated in live animals.
Epigenetics
In biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence – hence the name epi- (Greek: επί- over, above, outer) -genetics. It refers to functionally relevant modifications to the genome that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence. Examples of such changes are DNA methylation and histone modification, both of which serve to regulate gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
These changes may remain through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life and may also last for multiple generations.
The Research
The research, led by Dr. David Crews (http://www.utexas.edu/research/crewslab) and including colleagues Michael Skinner, Ross Gillette and others, is entitled, "Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of altered stress responses" and is published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1118514109.abstract).
The study, which was funded by a sub-group of the National Institutes of Health (http://NIEHS.NIH.gov), found that exposure to a common fungicide caused neurological and behavioral changes that were passed on to future generations of offspring, even when those offspring had no exposure to the original fungicide. Furthermore, the mechanism of "transgenerational inheritance" was epigenetic, meaning it was "above the genes." It was not coded into the DNA of sperm and egg, in other words. Instead, the expression of the DNA was altered and inherited through some mechanism other than DNA.
As the abstract of the study sums it up:
"We find that a single exposure to a common-use fungicide (vinclozolin) three generations removed alters the physiology, behavior, metabolic activity, and transcriptome in discrete brain nuclei in descendant males, causing them to respond differently to chronic restraint stress." (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1118514109.abstract)
Read more about Dr. David Crews at his lab web page:
http://www.utexas.edu/research/crewslab
The conventional view
of chemicals is that the damaging effects of chemical
exposure are NOT passed on to future generations (unless, of course, exposure
happens during pregnancy). Chemicals are relatively safe, the regulators say,
because the next generation is always born healthy and genetically
intact.
But what this research by Dr. David Crews reveals is that chemical exposure accumulates and is inherited by offspring which then pass on the damaging effects of that exposure to their own offspring. This transgenerational "epigenetic" effect appears to go on indefinitely, forever altering the expression of the genetic code.
"I don't see a diminution. It's the nature of this kind of imprint. It will not disappear," he told NaturalNews. "We are becoming a different species," Dr. Crews told me on a separate phone call, meaning that modern humans, having been exposed to a heavy burden of synthetic chemicals for roughly 3-4 generations, now express their genetic code in a way that strongly diverges from the expression of someone living in, say, the 1920's.
Autism has exploded in the last century, rising sharply from an estimated 1 in 25,000 children (http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Epidemic%20of%20autism.asp) to an astonishing 1 in 88 children, according to the CDC. (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/)
"We have permanently contaminated our world, and we are never going to be able to clean up our world. We have to recognize this fact. We have poisoned the environment. There is no turning back, but that doesn't mean we have to continue poisoning the environment," he says.
Dr. Crews believes that part of the answer rests in the realm of "green chemistry" where toxic synthetic chemicals used in agriculture are replaced with far less harmful chemicals that don't trigger transgenerational (inherited) damage in humans or animals.
The most common sources of chemical exposure today include:
• Foods - pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, food packaging
• Insect repellants such as DEET
• Personal care products (lotions, hand sanitizers, cosmetics)
• Plasticizers such as Bisphenol-A (BPA)
• Dioxins
• Hydrocarbons (gasoline, jet fuel)
• Medicines and pharmaceuticals
• Chemicals used in home construction materials (glues, dyes, formaldehyde, etc.)
• Chemical adjuvants in vaccines
Groundbreaking new science reveals that the harmful effects of exposure to synthetic chemicals are passed from generation to generation via "epigenetics," causing measurable damage to future generations even if those offspring are never exposed to the original chemical. The phenomenon of "Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance" (ETI) has now been demonstrated in live animals.
Epigenetics
In biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence – hence the name epi- (Greek: επί- over, above, outer) -genetics. It refers to functionally relevant modifications to the genome that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence. Examples of such changes are DNA methylation and histone modification, both of which serve to regulate gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
These changes may remain through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life and may also last for multiple generations.
The Research
The research, led by Dr. David Crews (http://www.utexas.edu/research/crewslab) and including colleagues Michael Skinner, Ross Gillette and others, is entitled, "Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of altered stress responses" and is published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1118514109.abstract).
The study, which was funded by a sub-group of the National Institutes of Health (http://NIEHS.NIH.gov), found that exposure to a common fungicide caused neurological and behavioral changes that were passed on to future generations of offspring, even when those offspring had no exposure to the original fungicide. Furthermore, the mechanism of "transgenerational inheritance" was epigenetic, meaning it was "above the genes." It was not coded into the DNA of sperm and egg, in other words. Instead, the expression of the DNA was altered and inherited through some mechanism other than DNA.
As the abstract of the study sums it up:
"We find that a single exposure to a common-use fungicide (vinclozolin) three generations removed alters the physiology, behavior, metabolic activity, and transcriptome in discrete brain nuclei in descendant males, causing them to respond differently to chronic restraint stress." (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1118514109.abstract)
Video Link--> http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=81C330EC0311060BEB98A7C005C57B3A
Read more about Dr. David Crews at his lab web page:
http://www.utexas.edu/research/crewslab
Why We Should Be Concerned
This groundbreaking research offers a sobering revelation about the age of industrial chemicals through which we are all now living. This "age of chemicals" ramped up roughly around World War II (late 1930's).But what this research by Dr. David Crews reveals is that chemical exposure accumulates and is inherited by offspring which then pass on the damaging effects of that exposure to their own offspring. This transgenerational "epigenetic" effect appears to go on indefinitely, forever altering the expression of the genetic code.
"I don't see a diminution. It's the nature of this kind of imprint. It will not disappear," he told NaturalNews. "We are becoming a different species," Dr. Crews told me on a separate phone call, meaning that modern humans, having been exposed to a heavy burden of synthetic chemicals for roughly 3-4 generations, now express their genetic code in a way that strongly diverges from the expression of someone living in, say, the 1920's.
Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance may help explain the rise in autism, obesity and infertility
According to Dr. Crews, the inherited, cumulative effects of chemical exposure may be a key element behind the causes of today's most worrisome disease epidemics: Autism, obesity, infertility and perhaps even cancer.Autism has exploded in the last century, rising sharply from an estimated 1 in 25,000 children (http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Epidemic%20of%20autism.asp) to an astonishing 1 in 88 children, according to the CDC. (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/)
"We have permanently contaminated our world, and we are never going to be able to clean up our world. We have to recognize this fact. We have poisoned the environment. There is no turning back, but that doesn't mean we have to continue poisoning the environment," he says.
Dr. Crews believes that part of the answer rests in the realm of "green chemistry" where toxic synthetic chemicals used in agriculture are replaced with far less harmful chemicals that don't trigger transgenerational (inherited) damage in humans or animals.
We Should Limit Our Exposure
"This recent ruling by the FDA not to ban BPA in the United States is, in my opinion, a disaster," says Dr Crews. "It is a fundamental mistake by a regulatory agency."The most common sources of chemical exposure today include:
• Foods - pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, food packaging
• Insect repellants such as DEET
• Personal care products (lotions, hand sanitizers, cosmetics)
• Plasticizers such as Bisphenol-A (BPA)
• Dioxins
• Hydrocarbons (gasoline, jet fuel)
• Medicines and pharmaceuticals
• Chemicals used in home construction materials (glues, dyes, formaldehyde, etc.)
• Chemical adjuvants in vaccines
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