Parents can Influence New Genetic Mutations in Children !

A new study has investigated how mothers and fathers cause new genetic mutations in their children, and how some of these mutations may lead to negative outcomes.

Characteristics that we inherit from our parents - starting with very basic features such as eye color or hair texture - shape not just our identity, but also the state of our health, both earlier and later in life.

That being the case, the study of genetics has become central to understanding who and what we are, as well as how our bodies are likely to develop in time, and how we might respond to internal or external factors.

For instance, recent studies have revealed the importance of genetic factors to conditions including Alzheimer's disease, brain cancer, and diabetes.

Given the importance of understanding the role of genetic factors to our health profile, scientists are constantly striving to decipher the mysteries of the human genome.

Researchers are looking at how the parents' age and sex determine
new genetic mutations in the offspring.

Read more: How do parents influence new genetic mutations in children?

Genetic Mutations in Parents May Increase Risk of ALS in Children

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Source: MSN Health

Vitamin D and Autism: The Missing Link

Causes, Prevention, and Treatment

I first became interested in vitamin D when I learned that it is not a vitamin. Instead, it is the only known substrate of a seco-steroid neuro-hormone that functions, like all steroids, by turning genes on and off.

That means it has as many different mechanisms of action as the genes it regulates. Moreover, vitamin D directly regulates hundreds, if not thousands, of the 21,000 coding genes of the human genome. Genes are responsible for making the proteins and enzymes the human body relies on for normal development and function.

Evidence that vitamin D is involved in the autism epidemic is mounting.

Read more: Vitamin D and Autism: The Missing Link

Source: naturalsolutionsmag

Dad's Poor Lifestyle Choices Affect His Sperm, Child's Health

Although we may put a lot of emphasis on how a mother’s lifestyle choices can affect the health of her future children, a recent review has shown that a father’s age and lifestyle may be just as important.

The study, now published online in the American Journal of Stem Cells, has identified the effect that male lifestyle can have on the health of his future offspring. The team reviewed past research that focused on how a man’s lifestyle could cause epigenetic changes in his sperm’s DNA that could eventually affect his offspring’s genome. Among its findings, the study revealed that fathers who are alcoholics could unknowingly influence the organ structure and gene expression in their offspring, causing significant health problems such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Read more: Dad's Poor Lifestyle Choices Affect His Sperm, Child's Health

Children can suffer from fathers' poor judgement

Source: Pixabay, Public Domain

Bipolar, autism, and schizophrenia might share genetic origin

A new, in-depth genetic study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, finds a potential link between bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. Although the findings are tentative, they open the door to new avenues of investigation.

Bipolar disorder, previously called manic depression, causes dramatic shifts in mood, along with swings in activity and energy levels.

Thought to affect almost 1 to 3 percent of Americans, bipolar disorder can be an incredibly disruptive condition.

Bipolar disorder is thought to share a common genetic origin with a number of other psychiatric conditions. Although evidence of this connection is growing, the search is still in its infancy.

New research, led by Dr. James Potash, puts another gene-shaped piece in the jigsaw. The study was a joint venture, conducted at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY.

Read more: Bipolar, autism, and schizophrenia might share genetic origin

The genetics behind psychiatric disorders are slowly revealed.

Source: medicalnewstoday

New gene testing method can identify mutations, prioritize variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes

A research team led by an award-winning genomicist at Western University has developed a new method for identifying mutations and prioritizing variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes, which will not only reduce the number of possible variants for doctors to investigate, but also increase the number of patients that are properly diagnosed.

These potentially game-changing technologies, developed by Peter Rogan, PhD, students and his collaborators from Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, reveal gene variants that were missed by conventional genetic testing.

Their method, described in BMC Medical Genomics, was first applied to 102 individuals at risk or with a diagnosis of inherited breast cancer. The team also studied 287 women with no known mutations for an article published in Human Mutation.

Rogan, Canada Research Chair in Genome Bioinformatics, says that 16 to 20 per cent of women in southwestern Ontario, who have their BRCA genes tested for breast and/or ovarian cancer risk, carry disease-causing gene variants that are well-understood by clinicians and genetic counselors. If a patient tests positive for an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene and have never had breast cancer, there is a much higher-than-average risk of developing the deadly disease.

Read more: New gene testing method can identify mutations, prioritize variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes

Source: azonano