14 replies to this topic

[The Immortalist]

Does any intense training whether it be athletic training or studying make it so that you kids can be stronger and smarter?

For example let's say there are two men:

Man A: An average man becomes interested in chess as a young boy and trains all his life to become a chess master and becomes extremely good as a result. He fathers a child at the peak of his chess tournament days.

Man B: Has the same intelligence as the first man but never played chess in his life.

Let's say both of the children were born on the same day. They both started the same chess training at the age of ten. Does the child of Man A have more potential because of some epigenetic thing going on as a result of Man A's training?

Edited by The Immortalist, 11 June 2013 - 03:51 AM.

[dz93]

If the child was born at the peak and was growing up watching the father play chess I would imagine it'd be very easy for the child to take a liking at a young age and easily become a master at it.

I've been wondering if one takes herbs and other substances that enhance expression of certain genes would that pass on to the child too? But lets say your age is 18 would 10 - 20 years (assuming that's the time frame you'd most likely have a kid) be long enough to make a big difference? I think this is something that your child would also have to do and probably the childs child before it makes an impact in the DNA.

[The Immortalist]

If the child was born at the peak and was growing up watching the father play chess I would imagine it'd be very easy for the child to take a liking at a young age and easily become a master at it.

I've been wondering if one takes herbs and other substances that enhance expression of certain genes would that pass on to the child too? But lets say your age is 18 would 10 - 20 years (assuming that's the time frame you'd most likely have a kid) be long enough to make a big difference? I think this is something that your child would also have to do and probably the childs child before it makes an impact in the DNA.

Any sort of training done at a young age(baring mental/physical disability) continued through to adulthood will produce a master at a certain skill.

I'm just wondering whether in the example of chess if training at it for years expresses some genes involved in brain maintenance/development in certain parts of the brain related to the mental processes involved in chess. That genes expression could then get passed down to the child and then the child has those genes expressed from the get-go and thus has a brain development suited for chess.

[The Immortalist]

I've also been wondering how steroids and growth hormone would effect your genes. If you took these substances and then fathered children would your children grow to be taller and more muscular lol?

[deeptrance]

I'm just wondering whether in the example of chess if training at it for years expresses some genes involved in brain maintenance/development in certain parts of the brain related to the mental processes involved in chess. That genes expression could then get passed down to the child and then the child has those genes expressed from the get-go and thus has a brain development suited for chess.

I would wager that it increases the odds of an epigenetic effect, but I doubt that there could be a reliable and predictable effect such that "doing x, y, z" for 20 years before procreating ---> "positive outcome in offspring." There are too many other factors involved.

So I guess I'm agreeing with you because I think there's no question that lifestyle and dietary factors affect subsequent generations, and this is a very exciting area of research although it is also very tricky because of the enormous complexities and the tendency for intergenerational effect sizes to be fairly small.

Another interesting area of research is in the effect of cellular transfers between mother and developing fetus. Apparently there are cells floating around in us from our mothers and older siblings and previous generations. The words of Walt Whitman are taking on new meaning, "We contain multitudes."

[YOLF]

TMK there is evidence supporting germline transmission of epigentics. For instance the children of people who were starved very often have obesity related diseases. Your germline has likely evolved to prepare your children for the life you've lived. If your germline thinks food is scrarce, it will prepare you to keep more of it on your waist. If you live a life of thrivation, your children will be predisposed to thrive themselves.

@ Deeptrance:
Are you talking about chimerisms or something else?

[dz93]

TMK there is evidence supporting germline transmission of epigentics. For instance the children of people who were starved very often have obesity related diseases. Your germline has likely evolved to prepare your children for the life you've lived. If your germline thinks food is scrarce, it will prepare you to keep more of it on your waist. If you live a life of thrivation, your children will be predisposed to thrive themselves.

@ Deeptrance:
Are you talking about chimerisms or something else?

So then would increasing expression of certain genes pass on?

[YOLF]

I suppose it would depend on whether or not the molecules which determine that expression are bioavailable to the leydig cells or not. I'm not an expert though, just equally interested in these things.

[dz93]

I suppose it would depend on whether or not the molecules which determine that exp<b></b>ression are bioavailable to the leydig cells or not. I'm not an expert though, just equally interested in these things.

Leydig cells?

[YOLF]

sorry, not leydig cells, they make hormones, but the cells that produce sperm, looks like they're called "spermatogonia" or cells of the same function in women.

[dz93]

Why wouldn't any substance be bioavailable to those cells?

[YOLF]

Each cell has it's own DVA expression and epigenetic expression, these things, along with it's neighbors, determine how it functions and what receptors it produces to recieve stuff through osmosis.

[dz93]

Well then, how do we make sure these cells are able to receive the gene expression? If this is the case it seems more likely that if the genetic code of those sperm cells you were talking about was expressed then it would have an even greater chance of passing on to offspring than I thought. Right?

[YOLF]

Well you'd have to know what chemistry you'd want them to be recieving, and how to activate a receptor for. But yeah, if you could have that particular gene expressed and the chemistry produced to enable that expression and the expression survived the chemistry of the spermatogenisis process/chemistry of becoming a fetus and then a baby, my guess would be yes. But I'm not an expert.

[dz93]

I'll dig around more and see what I can find