Some treatments hold much promise,but they pale in the face of the realization that everyday life choices are altering gene activity all the timeMuch of the current research on treating disease and staying healthy has focused on our genetic makeup – from the Human Genome project, completed in 2003, or to the newer field of epigenetics,which puts our 23000 genes into the context of the chemical reactions that influence their activities. Though these are crucial areas of study, scientists are continually forced to confront how much human health is not dependent on our genetics. The original optimism approximately the potential of genetics has been dampened by the immense challenges of translating gene findings into drug discovery as well as a uncouth underestimation of the role of lifestyle on disease risk. Geneticists did not –and many still do not – fully appreciate the dynamic manner in which our genes interact with each other and our lifestyles, and down to the level of our cells,eavesdropping on activities everywhere in the body and responding, often instantaneously, or to a person’s experiences. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com