As research in mice suggests, a person's behavior can be changed by events that their ancestors went through. It has been discovered that memories in the form of genetic memory are passed on to the next generation.
In the course of the research, scientists from the Emory University School of Medicine in the USA trained mice to be afraid of the smell of the cherry blossom and then observed changes inside the sperm of the rodent. The researchers found that the DNA fragment responsible for odor sensitivity was more active, while changes were observed in the structure of the brain. The offspring of the trained mice were very sensitive to the cherry blossom and tried to avoid this smell even though they had never experienced it in their life.
The study shows that the environment can influence a person's genetics and that changes can be passed on. One Dr. Brian Dias believes that with this mechanism you can even discover the traces of your ancestor. The results of this experiment are important for phobias, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder provided that memory can be passed down from generation to generation.
If, however, this is the case, it means that if our ancestor experienced a very difficult event at least two generations ago, for example, he fell from a great height at a young age and from that moment he was afraid of heights, this fear may appear in a person in future generations.
Research shows that our perception of death is wrong. Dying is a fairly slow process that some scientists believe can be stopped. The genes of the deceased person still remain active for hours and are likely to try to bring the body back to life.
It is very difficult to draw a precise line between life and death. Research published in 2017 revealed the hyperactivity of genes in the bodies of dead animals and humans. In the case of mice and zebrafish (also called zebrafish), hundreds of genes have been discovered that remain hyperactive for 24 hours and 4 days, respectively, after death. In contrast, in humans, gene hyperactivity has been observed for at least 12 hours after death.
However, when it comes to the human corpse, the matter is quite interesting - scientists from the University of Washington discovered the hyperactivity of genes responsible for the immune system and fighting stress, as well as those that are active only at the stage of embryo development, then go to sleep and try to bring the body back to life.
The latest research is a continuation of the above. An international team of scientists studied the changes taking place in RNA. These particles are perceived as weak and unstable. However, tests have shown that RNA can be extremely persistent. Some genes are still transcribed from DNA to RNA after death. Molecular processes can continue until the enzymes and chemical compounds necessary for them are exhausted.
Scientists studied the activity and degradation of genes in 36 different types of human tissues, including brain, skin, and lung tissues. The material was collected from over 500 donors who had been dead for up to 29 hours for the longest time. It turned out that the postmortem activity of the genes varied from tissue to tissue.
Researchers established patterns of this activity and on this basis, they created a computer program that in the future may be used by forensic physicians to accurately determine the time of death. Thus, the experiments of the team at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville focused on putting this knowledge into practice. The new method is not yet that effective - anything from the temperature at which the body was found to the age of the deceased could influence the activity of genes after death. Further experimentation is needed for the software to take all factors into account.
This research on dead organisms has allowed us to discover that the reactivation of dormant genes is related to the formation of cancer cells. This, in turn, explains why deceased organ recipients have a higher incidence of cancer. In addition, overactive genes in the human body that resemble a fight against death and attempting to bring it back to life may explain mysterious cases in which the dead unexpectedly wake up in a morgue or coffin and overcome death.
Genetics professor Steve Horvath and his team at the University of Los Angeles in California discovered an internal clock in human DNA that measures the biological age of organs or cancer cells. The discovery hopes to slow down the aging process of tissues, cells, and organs.
The team of scientists analyzed approximately 8,000 samples, containing 51 different cells and tissues, both healthy and neoplastic. The study used a methylation process that chemically modifies the DNA and causes changes over time. By observing these changes, scientists were able to identify 353 DNA markers from 51 cell types that changed with age.
The internal biological clock shows that various parts of our body age faster or slower, and the study found that the clock itself was reset when cells broke off and reprogrammed into stem cells. Scientists have found that women's breast tissue ages faster than others, which explains why breast cancer is so common in women.
The so-called epigenetic clock has shown that the biological age of diseased tissues in the body is much greater than that of healthy ones. Neoplastic breast tissue is on average 36 years older than other tissues. While these are only early stages of research, and scientists admit that they do not yet know exactly how this clock works, in the future, this discovery will prevent the aging of tissues, organs, and cells.
Scientists Discover New Biological Clock With Age-Measuring Potential
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