Marked for Life: Are Genetic Markers Helpful in Understanding Psychological Disorders?

In their concluding remarks, all three speakers said the answer to the question implicit in the event's title - if you are genetically predisposed to a neurodevelopmental disorder, does this effectively mean you are marked for life? - is an emphatic 'no'. Nonetheless, they had divergent views on the likelihood of successfully applying the fruits of genetic research into mental health... [Read More]

Don't overstate the risks of drinking while pregnant

It is no surprise that the recently published research into the epigenetic effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has received considerable media attention. Practically all pregnant women will worry - understandably - about the health of their future children, and will quickly seize on information or reassurance from credible-seeming sources - a fact well recognised by our commercially-motivated press...[Read More]

IVF children may have altered gene activity, study finds

Differences in the pattern of gene activity between children conceived naturally and those conceived following IVF (in vitro fertilisation) have been identified, the Sunday Times newspaper resported last week...[Read More]

So are we making progress?

The contemporary media is increasingly flooded with stories where the cause, explanation or hope involves genetics. With all the reporting of genetic findings and its 'potential' to improve clinical care - has genetics really led to a marked improvement in our healthcare? And should genetic determinism be the focus of scientific research?...[Read More]

A link between male infertility and epigenetic disorders in ART babies?

The aim of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is to achieve a single most important goal, the birth of a healthy child. ART is responsible for the birth of over 200,000 children each year worldwide. In the most common form of infertility treatment - IVF (in vitro fertilisation) - the woman's eggs are collected and then combined with the man's sperm in a petri dish. The successfully fertilised eggs are then transferred into the woman's womb. In ...[Read More]

Epigenetics: responding to life by switching genes on and off

Session 3 of the Progress Educational Trust's annual conference (PET), held on Wednesday 18 November 2009 at Clifford Chance, was chaired by Professor Marilyn Monk, Emeritus Professor of Molecular Embryology at the Institute for Child Health, and started with a talk by Karen Temple, Professor of Medical Genetics and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at the University of Southampton and Wessex Clinical Genetics Service. Professor Temple gave an intriguing talk on the influence of parent...[Read More]

The new epigenetics

All cells in the body have the same complement of 25000 genes, yet different cells in different specific tissues - such as nerve, muscle or gut - have different characteristics (phenotype). It follows that different subpopulations of genes within cells of differing function must be active or silenced depending on requirements for function in a particular tissue. Obviously, there will be genes concerned with metabolism, growth, and cell division - the so-called...[Read More]

Epigenetic link to autism

US scientists have identified a genetic trait that is strongly associated with autism. The genetic change does not involve a mutation within the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence of a gene but instead involves an alteration in the physical structure of the DNA which affects the way a gene is turned on and off. The researchers hope that the new findings will lead to novel ways to diagnose and treat autism....[Read More]

Not your child's biological parent? You may still have an influence on their genes

I am not a scientist. My life-long field of interest has always been human development and relationships. But, as a parent of two donor-conceived young adults and Manager of the Donor Conception Network (DC Network), I also have more than a passing curiosity about the extent of the influence of genetic inheritance on an individual's way of being in the world. Having met adult half-siblings of one of the earliest sperm donors I have been shocked by the likeness of intelligence and speech patte...[Read More]

What role might epigenetics have in shaping a person's development?

Epigenetics is about the when and where of gene activity and about shaping development in response to early experience - from internal cues in the growing embryo to the prevailing physical and the social environment. So it is not surprising that discoveries in epigenetics are being enthusiastically embraced by those who find the fatalism often associated with classical genetics rather soul-destroying. But it is important not to overstate the case for epigenetics. DNA sequence, its variations ...[Read More]