It is now well established that same sex attraction is not volitional. In The Microcosm Within, the incompatibility of any adequate theory for the persistence of homosexuality within the standard Darwinian construct of natural selection is fully discussed. The evidence points to same sex attraction as a genetic event representing the conservation of an original cellular capacity for self-reproduction brought forward over time as a conserved core process and expressed throughout the animal kingdom as same sex attraction.x More recently, there has been consideration that same sex attraction might be under epigenetic influences. A relationship between epigenetics and homosexuality have been cued from a 2012 study that proposed an experimental model in which epigenetic markers relate to same sex orientation. This…Read More
Chromatin represents the combination of both the DNA and proteins in a cell nucleus. This combined material can assume specific configurations. This chromatin architecture is currently viewed as having a critical role in controlling gene expression and DNA replication. The primary protein elements of chromatin, or histones, compact DNA and assist in mitosis. Epigenetic changes occur by complex interactions between environmental influences and the underlying protein structure and DNA of a genome, which can alter the configuration of chromatin or change how segments interact in their three-dimensional environment. Examples include DNA methylation and alternations to chromatin architecture through histone modification. It is believed that most epigenetic modifications to underlying DNA sequences, either through promotion of genetic expression or silencing of…Read More
New research is demonstrating that the etiology of cancer is complex. Epigenetic modifications of the genomes of cancer cells appear to be quite important. These are changes that do not necessarily reflect the exact DNA sequences within a cell, but alter, by various means, the expression of the underlying code. It is increasingly apparent that epigenetic modification may be as important as genetic mutation in the transformation of a normal cell to a cancer cell. This does not change the fact that many cancers are induced by infectious disease which itself can be considered an epigenetic variable. Such epigenetic mechanisms are being successfully defined. These include DNA methylation, arguably the most researched marker, by which the methylation profile can be linked to tumorigenesis as…Read More
New scientific findings involving epigenetics are having a profound impact on our understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. It is becoming increasingly apparent that epigenetic modifications play a critical role in the regulation of gene expression. In so doing, they produce phenotypic changes. It is becoming abundantly clear that these influences are an important factor in our own human experiences, influencing life span, mood disorders, immunological status, obesity or tendencies towards the variety of chronic illnesses that have afflicted our human experience. Although it has until recently been assumed that these epigenetic marks are cleared in each generation and then re-established by reiteration of similar environmental influences, it is now manifest that this is not always the case. The term ‘transgenerational epigenetic inheritance’…Read More
This is the first of a five part series discussing epigenetics. In science, what is old can once again become the new. To better understand the definition of epigenetics, we must look back at the time before Darwin. Charles Darwin proposed his version of natural selection and heritable descent by gradual modification in 1859, but before that, many theories had been considered before creationism. One leading evolutionary proponent was Jean-Baptiste Chevalier do Lamarck. He was the protégé of the Comte de Buffon who had believed that living organisms can vary over time and their experiences in the environment may affect them and their progeny. Lamarck proposed the concept of the inheritance of acquired characteristics as just this sort of mechanism. He believed that…Read More
