Gotta Love It. Even the daycare.......

So the other day I go to pick up my oldest and the businesswoman who runs the show said to me "I have a question" I quickly see her Time Magazine with the cover which asks "Can we change our genes"

I immediately launch into a diatribe about epigenetics. The current state of epigenetics is even murkier than micro RNAs. I basically go on a rant and at the end she says "So can those cigarettes I smoked as a kid screw up my grandson?"

OMFG!!! This is why I hate TIME magazine. AND the lay press, AND the secondary education system in this country...AND.........

Ok, here is the real take on Epigenetics. It is a control system, plain and simple, just like these RNAs and whatever else may control t he rate at which DNA does its dance.

Monogenetic disease importance is pretty clear....

Gene Broken (of important protein/etc) + No Repair = Disease Phenotype

But when you can compensate with other genes, or even multiple copies of the same gene or EVEN by upregulating similar genes to carry the load, you have a different story. Which is the story that you will soon hear being told.

The reason our organism exists here is because:

1. We repair our DNA damage pretty well, when we don't we die, usually of cancer

2. We have redundancy mechanisms which, we will find out have epigenetic control

3. We pass these adaptations on to our kin in multiple ways through behavior as well as, ribonucleic acids, as well as methylation and acetylation and......G-d only knows

Do we have any idea how the "F" all of this works. No, which is why I beg all of you hungry reporters working as freelance or as staff reporters for the will known as Time, please stop hyping "the NEXT BIG THING"

God Damn now I am gonna have to deflate the epigenetics balloon too????

Pretty soon everyone will be saying, WE HAVE A RIGHT TO A PROPER EPIGENTICALLY MODIFIED GENOME! I can see it now.......

The Sherpa Says: How about extra methylation causing cancer? How about low methylation ALSO causing cancer? Don't believe me? Pub Med it.......

Brave New Epigenome

Daniel at Genetic-Future asks "Which baby do you want? A dilemma for the 21st century parent-to-be"

There is a lovely recap of an article from Nature News.....from Daniel's blog,
Nature News has an intriguing article on the next three decades of reproductive medicine: essentially a series of short musings from scientists working in the field about the issues we will be facing in 30 year's time.

I would say we are facing issues with this technology today. I just saw an IVF baby without a large intestine. I brought up an issue here that is not so well tracked or publicized. I mentioned in the comments that there is evidence of increased risks of birth defects and epigenetic changes that include overgrowth syndromes......But what I found out a few days ago sent chills up my spine. It turns out my institution's REI group is not tracking these "congential anomalies" as part of due process......not good. At least someone is...

What is the evidence for or against?

1. Here is a nice review....preimplantation and risk to epigenetic modification.
2. A nice n=1 review of the promise of PGD for aneuploidy.
3. Increase in genetic mutations after ART with normal sperm
4. ICSI not so good.
5. A Great NEJM review that is a must read! This one is good too.
6. Not just risky for the baby. The mother is at risk too.

The Sherpa Says:

These were the highlights when I pubmed searched IVF and congenital outcomes.....There are many more indicating the risks. I wonder if all patients are properly counselled about these things? Which baby will you choose? Great question....I don't have the answer. But it seems to me, neither do the REI specialists......