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Published online 24 June 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.913

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Lifetime lessons of DNA change

Study of how genome is chemically altered as we age could help us understand disease.

John Whitfield

The chemical markers on people's DNA change throughout their life, an international team of researchers has found.

And the way they change – that is, whether markers are gained or lost — runs in the family, showing that these ‘epigenetic’ features, although not inherited in the conventional, strictly genetic way, are influenced by our genetic make-up.

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  • It would appear that the models we were taught in school about "dominant" and "recessive" genes directing the Mendelian process have turned out to be a simplification of reality. The discovery of gene-protein interactions and other aspects of epigenetics has challenged the model of DNA as our destiny and introduced evidence that environment can influence inheritable traits, something once considered very improbable. In short, the more we learn about biology, the more we find ourselves leaving the simplistic model that we thought explained everything, behind us.

    • 25 Jun, 2008
    • Posted by: Antnony D'Auria

  • Doesn't methylation vary according to cell type or location?

    • 25 Jun, 2008
    • Posted by: Richard KeslerWest