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I just watched a fascinating program about epigenetics, what many are considering to be the interface between nature and nurture.
Researchers have found that while a person's genes may remain unchanged over the course of their lives, whether the genes are turned on or suppressed changes the way the gene is expressed. And it turns out that various kinds of stressors in the life of an organism determine which genes will be shut on or activated through time.
They also found that stressors experienced by, say, a grandparent have dramatic effects on the epigenetics of the grandchild. Grandsons seemed to be most influenced by the grandfather's stress at age 10 or so, while grandaughters' epigenetics were most influenced by what the grandmother had experienced in utero. What was even more puzzling was that if the grandfather experienced famine at 10, the grandson would have epigenetics that better respond to stress (=healthier). And the opposite case was true if the grandfather experienced plenty!
This really blew my mind, especially as it was followed by a show championing cloned cattle. The ranchman they showed basically said, "They're the same as regular cattle, nice and healthy."
Thinking about epigenetics made me wonder if these cloned cows might degenerate over time, much like the royal family (sorry). In all the reading I've done about farming, this is what happens when genetic diversity is lost. I am thinking that cloning may be experienced as a "stressor" in some way, and contribute to degeneration of a species over time. It will be very interesting to see what happens with this, and I'm totally not gonna eat any of it until we've got more data.
I think we are headed for a science that appreciates nurture, where there is a place for morality as a tool of reason. And when that happens, a lot of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine is going to be proven correct.
And no, I don't believe all of it. There are a lot of shady people trying to make a buck in alternative medicine.
But there are also things from ancient disciplines that would be useful to us today. And epigenetics is one field that I believe closes an essential gap in our understanding, bridges time and sees the big picture. Which is a start.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.