| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (49 min. 15 sec.) ; 296358826 bytes |
| Summary |
Would you believe that your genes are shaped in part by your ancestors' life experiences? Epigenetics is a new genetic discovery which reveals the hidden influences upon genes which could affect every aspect of our lives.Epigenetics adds a whole new layer to genes beyond the DNA. Traditional scientific theory says that the sequence of DNA in genes, which is the basis for all of our hereditable characteristics, cannot be affected by one's actions. But the new field of epigenetics proposes a new simple but contentious idea - that genes have a 'memory', and that the lives of your grandparents - the air they breathed, the food they ate, even the things they saw - can directly affect you, decades later, despite your never experiencing these things yourself. While the conventional scientific view is that nothing an individual does in their lifetime will be biologically passed on to their children, epigenetics proposes a control system of 'switches' that turn genes on or off and suggests that things people experience - like nutrition and stress - can control these switches and cause heritable effects in humans. To many scientists, the epigenetic theory that what you do in your lifetime could in turn affect your grandchildren amounts to a heresy, calling into question the accepted view of the DNA sequence, and opening a whole new frontier in biology.In this documentary the work of many experts in the field of epigenetics is explored. Professor Marcus Pembrey, a geneticist, and Lars Olov Bygren, a Swedish doctor, describe their research demonstrating that famines during the lifetime of one generation affect the life expectancy of their grandchildren. And Rachel Yehuda - a New York psychologist - speaks about her studies of stress inherited by the babies of women who were involved in the September 11 terrorist attack. Her results show negative effects on third trimester foetuses of women in or near the World Trade Centre at the time, suggesting that stress affects can be passed down through subsequent generations.Professor Marcus Pembrey makes the point that epigenetics will change the way the causes of disease are viewed, and will reassess the importance of lifestyles and family relationship on the development of children. Because epigentetics shows that people's actions affect not just themselves but the health of their children and grandchildren in decades to come, Pembrey says we are now "all guardians of our genome for future generations". (From the UK, in English) |
| Event |
Broadcast 2010-04-27 at 19:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
DNA -- Methylation.
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Epigenesis.
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Epigenetics.
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Evolutionary genetics.
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Gene expression -- Research.
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Genetic toxicology.
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United Kingdom.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Flynn, Barbara, cast
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Paterson, Nigel, director
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