why the epigenome is green

The Epigenome… I never heard of it until recently, I caught the last 15min of Nova while channel surfing. I don’t know what caught my attention, probably it was just Nova – they usually have something for the science nerd inside me. Well, the epigenome is the part of our genes that contains information that is more than ourselves… ok, this is just my rough understanding, mind you. It’s the part of the gene that goes beyond our own life span.

Let me just get on with it – a couple of scientists noticed (those first 45 min were probably pretty useful) there were genetic changes that seemed to result from environmental conditions that affected not the next generation (their children) but their grandchildren! For example, grandparents who survived a famine had grandchildren with longer lifespans – and this was predictable across the population they studied. (Interstingly, those who lived in times of plenty had grandchildren with shorter lifespans.)

So, another couple of scientists sped up the observation process by using rats and imposing upon them an obvious environmental condition – exposure to herbicide (the specific chemical wasn’t mentioned, but they kept showing an ominous helicopter spraying a stand of what looked like citrus trees). The test generation (those directly exposed) was not adversely affected, but by the third generation of rats there were significant numbers of those with diseases like cancers and tumors  (well above 50% and higher, depending on the disease).

At the close, one of the scientists commented about the nature of this find. He noted that while many individuals accept the health risks of their particular lifestyle (for example, smoking), it may be affecting other individuals generations to come – which should drastically change how we think about our personal health and the health of our planet.

It made me think about the numbers suffering with Alzheimer’s, all types of cancers, autism, and other diseases that just didn’t seem to be around 100 years ago. Granted, some of these diseases might be caused by old age (and thus coming to light because we are living longer, not because we’re sicker), but what if… ? My grandparents were children in the early 1900s, working on farms that embraced technological and scientific “breakthroughs” and “progress” in the form of machines and synthetic fertilizers. Perhaps their exposure then is affecting my family now… or yours.

All I know is the more I learn, the more I can see the interconnectedness of all life, and how subtle yet real the reactions to my actions are. I do make a difference in the world.