Sep 13, 2011
Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as an internal repair system, capable of dividing without to replenish other cells. According to Medline: “Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions.” What’s interesting about these cells is that the DNA does not govern the cell’s behavior, something above genetics does.
Hence the new branch of science called “epigenetics.” Epigenetics focuses on the expression of genes, rather than on the underlying sequence of DNA. Epigenetics focuses on chemical groups that attach to parts of DNA and alter gene function in response to social and physical environments in a process called “methylation.” University of British Columbia researchers recently discovered through the lens of this new branch of science that parents’ stress levels can leave more than just mental or emotional scars. The atmosphere provided by a stressed-out parent in a child’s toddler years actually alters the genes of the child into adolescence and possibly later in life.
Findings like these have rekindled an interest in a long-abandoned theory called “Lamarckian Inheritance” postulated by an 18th century French biologist named Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarckism is the theory that characteristics acquired by habit, use, or disuse may be passed on to future generations through inheritance. Researchers now realize that the environment in which you live – the visible and invisible atmosphere in which you grow and develop and through which you express yourself – has an impact on the individual cells that make up your body.
Gregg Hake | CEO
Related Links:
Energetix 14th Annual Lyceum: Cellular Health Breakthroughs – Collaborations in Clinical Experience (find out more)
Free Webinar GMO’s – Navigating our Corrupted Food Supply (find out more)
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