MAJOR GENETICS DISCOVERY - Page 1

Many years ago an old time breeder told me that the environment the bitch is placed in before whelping and after whelping including level of appropriate nutrition for the dam and the puppies, can affect the actual genetics of the puppies when they grow up.  This belief was regarded in genetic textbooks in biology and dog breeding as nonsense.  Recent discoveries of "dark DNA" or "junk DNA" showed that this 80% of this "left over from evolution" DNA previously thought to be useless, actually contains genetic fragment switches which can activate genes known to be important.  Turns out the old time breeders were correct at least to an extent.  Technically this meant the end of the dominance of mendellian genetics and that itself is very big news.  However, this is not yet taught in the Universities due to the strict secrecy of this research.

Now we have another major breakthrough.  As with the subject of  "dark or junk DNA" don't expect to hear much about this publicly for a number of years until treatments are patented and released for use, since these discoveries are so important to the drug and biological companies and their patenting process that a complete secrecy lock will likely be imposed.  But be assured that research is moving ahead at breakneck speed on these matters and this research will eventually result in many new treatments for disease in humans and animals, including GSDs.   You can expect numerous further amazing "genetic switch" discoveries in the near future. Science is now being turned upside down just as it was with the discoveries by Tesla of the "scalar waves" which has recently been leaked to some of the public by scientists working on these highly classified projects now based in outerspace on large satellites in orbits around the earth.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article5029679.ece

Little known perhaps, but there is no secrecy about it.  Like any other accepted belief, these ideas will take a long period of transformation to become a commonly accepted point of view.  Darwin's theory was no more prevalent during his lifetime.  There are many studies, texts and videos covering these topics, and have been for several years.  And who better to provide funding for this type of research than biotech corporations and drug industry?  Pragmatism at work.  Progress doesn't "happen" without someone profiting from it.

Would I be correct in saying that this research has gone one step further and proposed that the environmental (& even emotional) conditions during conception can also have an effect on the genetics of the progeny?

So make sure there are soft lights & a bit of Barry White playing when the stud dog pays a visit...

AandA

Preston,you are a wealth of information.Good luck to you and have a great day.

WOW!

Thanks Preston, that was an interesting read.

I don't know where you are located, but there is a really neat scienitific TV series that just
began called "Fringe"

Last night's episode was about a man who had no pituitary gland, and had to steal the pititary
gland from his victim so he wouldn't age rapidly.......or at least that's what I got from it.
 

Also involved zapping a dead womans retina,and hooking it into a computer,

 so you could see the images she saw just before she was killed.
 

Really interesting stuff......

There has been a similar thread on this before, www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/173331.html#174457

And also for reference the BBC ran a programme on it's "Horizon" science series, www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/ghostgenes.shtml

Cheers,

AandA

AandA, thanks for the reference.  I have known some psychologists that believe that playing classical symphonic music near the mother-to-be during during pregnancy helps the baby develop a healthier nervous system.  I also know one GSD breeder that plays somewhat noisey country western music in his kennel and believes it strengthens the temperament of his puppies and that it strengthens what they transmit genetically.   Someday these questions will be answered by science.  For now most of the advanced reserach is being done in-house at certain biological/genetic and drug company research divisions which necessitates secrecy until their discoveries are patented and ready for release as treatments.

Seriously, the emotional state of the expectant mother is very important. I did a research paper on rats who were stressed during pregnancy, & what the effects were on the offspring. Even 4-5 generations later, the offspring were showing increased aggression & tendencies for certain immune mediated diseases & certain cancers. Now, this was 25 years ago, & I was no rocket scientist, but even then, the budding science of neuroendocrinology was very exciting. Dark & junk DNA certainly have the potential to change our understanding of genetics from the ground up. And finding out what triggers this DNA into an active state has to be the challenge of this generation. The implications for all of biology  are staggering! Cool stuff, Preston! jackie harris

Epigenetic change is a chemical modification of the DNA without changing the underlying sequence of the DNA structure, and has been found to occur naturally, and even pass on hereditarily, without artificially induced modification.  The idea of patenting a process that occurs naturally, and without necessity of direct human intervention seems unlikely, but patenting some form of technology that can artificially induce chemical changes in a more controllable or efficient manner is possible.  But then, competition drives the market, and what would Coke be without Pepsi, Ford without Chevy, or PC without Mac?  A simple variation of the original patent's blueprint will ensure successful competition among industry peers.

 

Gene-environment interaction is a term used to describe any phenotypic effects that are due to interactions between the environment and genes. Naive nature versus nurture debates assume that variation in a given trait is primarily due to either genes, or the individual's experiences. The current scientific view is that neither genetics nor environment are solely responsible for producing individual variation, and that virtually all traits show gene-environment interaction. The specific pattern that relates the average expression of trait across a range of environments is known as a genotype's norm of reaction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene-environment_interaction

I agree with darylehret ....there is no secrecy here. I have taken several courses in genetics in the last 5 years and done tons of reading and these subjects have been taught and discussed frequently. There is far more known that was even 10 years ago, and while a given company trying to accomplish a specific type of research may, in fact, not publish to protect their advantage, such advantages don't last for long because all around the world the same, and sometimes better quality of research is being conducted both in the private and public sectors. 

I might say the same is true of cancer research and understanding. Enormous advances have been made in just the past several years in understanding more about the cause and how to treat a variety of cancers. 

Even if one has an excellent education, unless one keeps learning, going to school, reading on the subjects of interest to her/him, one's knowledge base is soon old and outdated and, in large measure in some areas of study,  incorrect.