#heritable

Around 50% of a person’s lifespan is determined by genetics, a new study suggests, more than doubling previous estimates of the heritability of longevity. The new research, published Jan. 29 in the journal Science, used a carefully designed mathematical model to reach this conclusion. With the model, the team behind the work could account for external causes of death, such as accidents or…

Researching with Rotifers

We inherit our genes from mum and dad, and over time these DNA blueprints help us develop family similarities. Yet we also receive some of our parents’ epigenetics, chemicals that surround the genes controlling how they are used. Epigenetics are often affected by lifestyle and health, and in this way a mother’s age can directly affect their offspring. In humans, as in rotifers (like this one), elderly mothers often give birth to children who live shorter lives. But recent experiments suggest rotifers with older mothers react much more positively to caloric restriction – a healthy boost caused by a change in diet. As we share many genes in common with rotifers, with careful study this may mean choice of diet, medication or lifestyle might affect human children from young mothers or older mothers differently, and contribute to personalised medicine in the future.

Written by John Ankers

Image by Michael Shribak and Kristin Gribble

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA

Image copyright held by the original authors

Research published in Scientific Reports, February 2019

Science Panel Backs Editing Heritable Human Genes, With Caveats

Human gene editing is perhaps one of the most, if not the most, divisive issue worldwide and in the United States. A recent survey of over 4,700 U.S. adults found that when it comes to the use of biomedical interventions, including gene editing in human babies to reduce risk of serious diseases, a substantial number (nearly… (more…)

Parents of children with autism more likely to get common ailments