|
|
||||
|
Epigenetics: Genome, Meet Your Environment
As the evidence accumulates for epigenetics, researchers reacquire a taste for Lamarckism
The Scientist 2004, 18(13):14
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Toward the end of World War II, a German-imposed food embargo in western Holland – a densely populated area already suffering from scarce food supplies, ruined agricultural lands, and the onset of an unusually harsh winter – led to the death by starvation of some 30,000 people. Detailed birth records collected during that so-called Dutch Hunger Winter have provided scientists with useful data for analyzing the long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to famine. Not only have researchers linked such exposure to a range of developmental and adult disorders, including low birth weight, diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, breast and other cancers, but at least one group has also associated exposure with the birth of smaller-than-normal grandchildren.[1]
The finding is remarkable because it suggests that a pregnant mother's diet can affect her health in such a way that not only her children but her grandchildren (and possibly great-grandchildren, etc.) inherit the same health problems.
|
(continued >>)
To continue reading this full article, you must be a subscriber to The Scientist.
You are only a few minutes away from unlimited access.
Subscribe to The Scientist to get unlimited access to our premium content
Get unlimited access to this article and over 20 years of The Scientist archives. You won’t miss a word – all for as little as $4.95. Subscribe now.The Scientist offers site licenses to institutions and organizations. Recommend us to your librarian and get online access through your place or work or study.