Description
Since the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 our understanding of how the genetic code influences the development of all living things has made rapid progress, with undoubtedly impressive consequences medical advances. Technology develops alongside our improved knowledge, and our ethical boundaries are constantly being pushed further. But how far can and should we go in exploiting our knowledge? It is thirteen years since The Human Genome project sequenced the entire DNA in a human cell and ever since scientists have been trying to understand the meaning of these three billion letters, which form the human genome. However, it has also become clear that this “Book of Life” can be biologically interpreted in different ways and in this talk, Dr Doug Vernimmen will introduce the meaning of the genome (The Book of Life) and the epigenome (its biological interpretation). Epigenetics refers to inherited changes in how genes are switched ON and OFF without changing the DNA sequence. It had been thought that inherited characteristics rely only on the genetic information (i.e. the genes) in the DNA, which is packaged as chromosomes inside the nucleus of each cell. Packaging proteins, called nucleosomes, protect the DNA by acting like bubble wrap, packaging and protecting the DNA. If the DNA is well packed by these “bubbles” genes will be switched OFF, while if the DNA is unprotected the genes are more likely to be switched ON. Chemical tags, influenced by the environment, can interact both with the nucleosome bubble wrap and the DNA. This in turn can affect the level of packing by the nucleosomes and the presence (or absence) of these chemicals and thus affecting genes expression. Therefore, the way the genetic information is used does not rely entirely on the sequence of the DNA, but also depends on the environment (e.g. food, stress, physical activity etc.). The most striking example is the case of identical twins (identical DNA sequence), who appear identical during childhood but become more distinct during their adult life, and even developing different diseases.| Period | 11 Jul 2016 |
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| Event type | Other |
| Location | Glasgow, United KingdomShow on map |
