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How did you come up with that? Did you even understand the article? It is quite literally saying social/cultural changes leave an impact on genetic transcriptio

How did you come up with that? Did you even understand the article? It is quite literally saying social/cultural changes leave an impact on genetic transcription of DNA through methylation and epigenetic markup. In fact, this proves just the opposite. That social factors are intricately tied to genetic output. What this proves false are the hardliners of each side of the debate that espouse race is a purely social construct, and the other end that naively call race a simple set of genetic traits.

tristor 10y ago
I am not a geneticist, so perhaps I misunderstand, but the conclusion I formed seems to be reinforced by the quotes from the authors in the article. That is, there are specific gene expressions which are relevant in a medical context affected by cultural factors that are genetically transmitted. Genetic transmission at least to me implies that a person receives these things from their parents at birth, regardless of their own specific upbringing, because of cultural factors of their parents upbringing, and so on. As in, cultural differences can be expressed over time as genetic differences. “These data suggest that the interplay between race and ethnicity as social constructs and genetic ancestry as a biological construct is more complex than we had realized,” said Noah Zaitlen, PhD, a UCSF assistant professor of medicine and co-senior author on the new study. “In a medical context both elements may provide valuable information.” Setting aside the fact that this is such a touchy issue that the authors are carefully couching their language, it looks like there may be ways in which this new information can help people by tailoring medical treatments. I'd love a ELI5 explanation of this if I'm somehow misunderstanding, but the conclusion I formed seems to be supported by the article to my reading of it. Note, I'm not taking a hardline stance. That's why I said "race is not just a social construct" in my conclusion.
- openasocket 10y ago
  Gene expression is partially inherited and partially a product of environment. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_inheritance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_i... The classic example discussed is a study of children born during a famine. Children born during famine are going to be smaller than normal, but it was found that their children and grandchildren would be born smaller than normal, even though the famine has long since passed. This change has been attributed to a particular methylation pattern that was passed down. It's known that things like exposure to famine and abuse can change methylation patterns, but this study suggests that non-traumatic things like your cultural upbringing can affect methylation.
  - tristor 10y ago
    Thanks for the link. I read that, it seems to support my conclusion of this article as well. "As in, cultural differences can be expressed over time as genetic differences." It seems like the debate we're having is a rehash of nature vs nurture, where it seems like the new research indicates nurture can affect nature for future generations through gene expression.
openasocket 10y ago
To pick a nit, technically this article demonstrates race is a social construct, but social constructs affect gene expression.

tristor 10y ago

I am not a geneticist, so perhaps I misunderstand, but the conclusion I formed seems to be reinforced by the quotes from the authors in the article. That is, there are specific gene expressions which are relevant in a medical context affected by cultural factors that are genetically transmitted. Genetic transmission at least to me implies that a person receives these things from their parents at birth, regardless of their own specific upbringing, because of cultural factors of their parents upbringing, and so on. As in, cultural differences can be expressed over time as genetic differences. “These data suggest that the interplay between race and ethnicity as social constructs and genetic ancestry as a biological construct is more complex than we had realized,” said Noah Zaitlen, PhD, a UCSF assistant professor of medicine and co-senior author on the new study. “In a medical context both elements may provide valuable information.” Setting aside the fact that this is such a touchy issue that the authors are carefully couching their language, it looks like there may be ways in which this new information can help people by tailoring medical treatments. I'd love a ELI5 explanation of this if I'm somehow misunderstanding, but the conclusion I formed seems to be supported by the article to my reading of it. Note, I'm not taking a hardline stance. That's why I said "race is not just a social construct" in my conclusion.

openasocket 10y ago
Gene expression is partially inherited and partially a product of environment. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_inheritance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_i... The classic example discussed is a study of children born during a famine. Children born during famine are going to be smaller than normal, but it was found that their children and grandchildren would be born smaller than normal, even though the famine has long since passed. This change has been attributed to a particular methylation pattern that was passed down. It's known that things like exposure to famine and abuse can change methylation patterns, but this study suggests that non-traumatic things like your cultural upbringing can affect methylation.
- tristor 10y ago
  Thanks for the link. I read that, it seems to support my conclusion of this article as well. "As in, cultural differences can be expressed over time as genetic differences." It seems like the debate we're having is a rehash of nature vs nurture, where it seems like the new research indicates nurture can affect nature for future generations through gene expression.

openasocket 10y ago

To pick a nit, technically this article demonstrates race is a social construct, but social constructs affect gene expression.