Epigenetics

One of the biggest debates in science class was held over the subject: Which is more important - nature or nurture?  I remember this discussion occurring from junior high and through all my further education.  This reminds me of the parallel theological debate: Which is the controlling factor - man's will or God's will?

If I read the Scriptures correctly, the theological argument is answered by a "both/and" kind of rationale.  God has an overarching will that drives history but man has an input into the details.  God has chosen to restrain and uphold at the same time.  If you stray into the the camp of "it's all about free will" then you appear to limit God's sovereignty.  If you stray into the "it's all predetermined" camp, you stray into fatalism.  So many of the Biblical arguments seem to hold opposing views in tension and with our limits of time in our assessment, other than looking backward, we can't always reconcile the two camps.  Stephen King in his novel 11/22/63, takes a stab at "what if" history was altered.  Many other science fiction authors have used this as a jumping off point. 

A newer field of science is emerging, epigenetics.  This field is examining the effects of environment - especially nutrition - on the expression of various genes.  The hypothesis is that if a person has a gene for a particular characteristic, the degree to which that characteristic becomes displayed is dependent on the environmental factors that person is exposed to.  This can explain differences in identical twins, who are born with identical DNA structures.  Environmental factors can include both social and physical factors. 

What does that mean to you and I on an everyday basis?  It means that the choices others make and the choices we make influence our outcomes.  We can repress or express a negative gene or express or repress a positive gene.  A person may have an inherited gene for music aptitude - but if no lessons are provided at the opportune time, no musical instruments are introduced, no encouragement or positive movement is noticed, that musical gene may never be expressed.  On the converse, if a person inherits a gene for diabetes, careful attention to diet, exercise, etc. beginning in infancy and beyond, may delay or prevent the expression of that gene.  We have long known that autoimmune diseases have genetic, environmental and trigger components.  What is new here is an understanding that there is an actually chemical pathway in the body that facilitates the process.  This may help us make better choices for ourselves and our children to avoid or ameliorate health conditions that we previously thought were only treatable, but not preventable. 

Why is this important?  As our society evolves and decides that having a healthy society is important enough to take money from the producer and spread it around to non-producers - there will be an increasing drive to control costs.  That means controlling the choices that people make that may lead to expression of negative genes, or failure to express positive genes.  That can mean controls on what food products are sold in the marketplace, the education that is provided publicly, what activities we are allowed to engage in.  Freedoms will be more limited as we try to reduce costs by preventing negative outcomes to epigenetically controlled diseases. 

The key question is:  how do we help folks take responsibility without enabling?  When folks don't experience personally the consequences of poor behavior, do they make good choices willingly?  Your freedom ends at my nose. 

I think freedom must be earned.  We are born as helpless babies, dependent on our parents.  The choice of what and how to feed, whether to provide the security, truth and relationship all babies need is up to our parents.  As we gain independence, the choice becomes ours.  The motivation comes from what we learn from our parents and the world that we observe.  This is what makes parenting the most important job in the world - the parent is shaping not only their own world but the world of all those that contact the parent or child. 

What do you see in your world that might be considered an example of epigenetics at work?