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This is interesting research, for sure, but the headline's claim that it "changes our DNA" is misleading. The genes are not changed, only markers that have unkn

This is interesting research, for sure, but the headline's claim that it "changes our DNA" is misleading. The genes are not changed, only markers that have unknown effects on their expression. Learning more about the mechanisms of how DNA interacts with our body is certainly exciting, but the implication of the headline is that our actual genetic code is being tweaked, which is not true at all.

djokkataja 12y ago
Going to play devil's advocate: the epigenome is changed in methylation, as explained in the article, and for a NYTimes article title, "changes our DNA" is going to be much more comprehensible to the general public than "changes our epigenome". "Tweaked" is actually a very good word for what happens--none of the base pairs are rewritten, but epigenetic changes can significantly affect the organism, even to the point of being passed on to offspring.[1] 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetics
- cant-be-serious 12y ago
  Mechanism and whether if transgenerational epigenetics happens in human is still unclear: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24679529 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24679529
  - skywhopper 12y ago
    Indeed. Given that this research showed these particular studied effects were specific to particular muscles that were being exercised, it seems unlikely to transfer through entirely different set of cells and into offspring. In fact, my uneducated first guess would be that the different methylation patterns are related to the actual buildup in strength, which itself would require some way of coding for the expression of certain genes differently in one set of muscle cells than in another.
  - biehl 12y ago
    But with indications that it happens http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414014366 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414...
sliverstorm 12y ago
From what I remember of cell biology, expression is so key that some biologists argue DNA & DNA expression are of equal consequence and perhaps even meaningless without the other. Is a gene in your DNA that is never expressed really part of your genotype?
- skywhopper 12y ago
  Yes, because it can be expressed in future generations. Re-used or re-purposed in future environments. Non-expression of a gene that's detrimental in the current environment can itself be useful to the survival of the gene until it can become useful.
beloch 12y ago
The way I'd put it is, "Exercise changes how our bodies interpret and express our DNA to build healthier bodies".
- nly 12y ago
  Sounds like ./configure. The source code isn't changing but the next recompile might be different ;)

djokkataja 12y ago

Going to play devil's advocate: the epigenome is changed in methylation, as explained in the article, and for a NYTimes article title, "changes our DNA" is going to be much more comprehensible to the general public than "changes our epigenome". "Tweaked" is actually a very good word for what happens--none of the base pairs are rewritten, but epigenetic changes can significantly affect the organism, even to the point of being passed on to offspring.[1] 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetics

cant-be-serious 12y ago
Mechanism and whether if transgenerational epigenetics happens in human is still unclear: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24679529 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24679529
- skywhopper 12y ago
  Indeed. Given that this research showed these particular studied effects were specific to particular muscles that were being exercised, it seems unlikely to transfer through entirely different set of cells and into offspring. In fact, my uneducated first guess would be that the different methylation patterns are related to the actual buildup in strength, which itself would require some way of coding for the expression of certain genes differently in one set of muscle cells than in another.
- biehl 12y ago
  But with indications that it happens http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414014366 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414...

sliverstorm 12y ago

From what I remember of cell biology, expression is so key that some biologists argue DNA & DNA expression are of equal consequence and perhaps even meaningless without the other. Is a gene in your DNA that is never expressed really part of your genotype?

skywhopper 12y ago
Yes, because it can be expressed in future generations. Re-used or re-purposed in future environments. Non-expression of a gene that's detrimental in the current environment can itself be useful to the survival of the gene until it can become useful.

beloch 12y ago

The way I'd put it is, "Exercise changes how our bodies interpret and express our DNA to build healthier bodies".

nly 12y ago
Sounds like ./configure. The source code isn't changing but the next recompile might be different ;)