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That’s totally different. What’s unique here is the epigenetic mechanism of the effect. The effects are fixed at conception when recombination occurs and have n

That’s totally different. What’s unique here is the epigenetic mechanism of the effect. The effects are fixed at conception when recombination occurs and have nothing to do with development in the womb. Edit: it’s also worth noting that epigenetic effects can span generations[1], something that a purely environmental effect could not. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_inheritance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_i...

lisper 4y ago
Well, that's not quite true. The first half of the article is about effects of stress during gestation. "The effect was most prominent in babies whose mothers had been in their third trimester on that fateful day." > epigenetic effects can span generations[1], something that a purely environmental effect could not Why not? It seems to me the only way you could rule out environmental effects is if there are no aspects of the environment that are constant across generations, otherwise those constant aspects of the environment would necessarily effect multiple generations.
- catlifeonmars 4y ago
  > Well, that's not quite true. The first half of the article is about effects of stress during gestation. Quoting from the article, the researcher starts looking due to the presumed effects of stress during gestation: > Finding low cortisol in the 9/11 babies back in 2002 had told us that we'd been thinking about some things all wrong. We'd assumed all along that trauma was behaviorally transmitted: Joseph's problems seemed to result from the stressful, bereaved atmosphere in his childhood home. But now it looked like the uterine environment also played a role. So did the sex of the traumatized parent. However, ultimately, the key discovery of the article is actually about epigenetic causes and not due to the (current) mother’s uterine environment: > In 2020 we reported lower levels of FKBP5 methylation in the adult children whose mothers—and not fathers—were exposed to the Holocaust during childhood. This effect was independent of whether the mother had PTSD or not. It suggested that trauma might have affected the mothers' eggs decades before her children were conceived, while she was herself a child. I agree with you that you can’t rule out environmental effects without a trial that controls for the effects of the current environment. However, the featured article is really about the hereditary effects, ostensibly epigenetic in nature, rather than nonhereditary.

lisper 4y ago

Well, that's not quite true. The first half of the article is about effects of stress during gestation. "The effect was most prominent in babies whose mothers had been in their third trimester on that fateful day." > epigenetic effects can span generations[1], something that a purely environmental effect could not Why not? It seems to me the only way you could rule out environmental effects is if there are no aspects of the environment that are constant across generations, otherwise those constant aspects of the environment would necessarily effect multiple generations.

catlifeonmars 4y ago
> Well, that's not quite true. The first half of the article is about effects of stress during gestation. Quoting from the article, the researcher starts looking due to the presumed effects of stress during gestation: > Finding low cortisol in the 9/11 babies back in 2002 had told us that we'd been thinking about some things all wrong. We'd assumed all along that trauma was behaviorally transmitted: Joseph's problems seemed to result from the stressful, bereaved atmosphere in his childhood home. But now it looked like the uterine environment also played a role. So did the sex of the traumatized parent. However, ultimately, the key discovery of the article is actually about epigenetic causes and not due to the (current) mother’s uterine environment: > In 2020 we reported lower levels of FKBP5 methylation in the adult children whose mothers—and not fathers—were exposed to the Holocaust during childhood. This effect was independent of whether the mother had PTSD or not. It suggested that trauma might have affected the mothers' eggs decades before her children were conceived, while she was herself a child. I agree with you that you can’t rule out environmental effects without a trial that controls for the effects of the current environment. However, the featured article is really about the hereditary effects, ostensibly epigenetic in nature, rather than nonhereditary.