Progressive Wednesday

My great great great grandmother made me sick

June 2nd, 2007 by Eric

And I never even knew her. We all know that overexposure to certain environmental toxins can be hazardous to our health. But according to researchers from Washington State University, a disease or disorder that you are suffering from now could be the result your great-great-great-grandmother being exposed to those toxins when she was pregnant. They reached this conclusion after performing a study that shows that:

Environmental toxins can alter the activity of an animal’s genes in a way that is transmitted through at least four generations after the exposure. Their discovery suggests that toxins may play a role in heritable diseases that were previously thought to be caused solely by genetic mutations. It also hints at a role for environmental impacts during evolution.

The researchers exposed pregnant rats to endocrine disruptors during the time when the gender of the offspring was being determined. The male offspring of those exposed had a very low sperm count. When mated with females that were not exposed, they were still able to reproduce, though their male offspring had the same problem. That problem persisted in every generation tested during the study.

The rats weren’t exposed to substances that have been banned or are scarcely used. Most of them are pesticides and fungicides that are very commonly used in today’s agriculture industry. In fact, one of them, methoxyclor, is a pesticide that replaced DDT when it was banned.

These findings are important, not only because it brings to light the fact that these toxins effect us more substantially than we originally realized, but also because it will allow a greater understanding of how disease develops, especially over generations. While it’s long been assumed that natural genetic mutations are responsible for many genetic diseases, it’s not that simple.

Epigenetic changes might play a role in diseases such as breast cancer and prostate disease, whose frequency is increasing faster than would be expected if they were the result of genetic mutations alone.

So if you or your significant other is pregnant, be careful. Oh, and congratulations! As a gift to you, here is a very useful website that gives you the skinny on things to eat and things to avoid while pregnant. It helped my wife and I a lot while we were she was pregnant with our daughter. And she turned out to be the smartest child ever born. I know all parents say that, but she really is. Give the site a look, and let’s keep this Children of Men scenario from becoming reality TV.

Congratulations is in order for this picture taker.