Can Your Environment Affect Your DNA? | Epigenetics Explained

[@phantomstrider]

I actually think this is uplifting rather than depressing. If you choose to have offspring, you can make decisions now that give your descendants a potentially better life. Exercise regularly and eat right? Your kids might be more likely to do that, regardless of your original genetics.

[@basedjenny7362]

It's Phantom Strida

[@GameSharkThunder2]

Hey it's Phantom Strider! I love your videos on cartoons and your Top 10s are especially fun!

[@FreeSkillsStyle]

Or you could just adopt a kid, there is a lot of kids out there seeking for a better life, that could be a solution

[@mattys1000]

holy cow its you! I also agree that epigenetics can lead to future generations having better health and welbeing

[@hectormarrero6911]

You're absolutely right read Deuteronomy chapter 30:19

[@lucyvass6592]

This video explained epigenetics better to me than a lecturer who talked on it for an hour and that I pay 9 grand a year for. The Sci show is such an amazing resource, keep it up!

[@suzimonkey345]

I know that you wrote this comment 7 years ago but I’m hoping that you listened to your lectures, (then googled it once you got home!) & did really well AND learnt lots of things about genetics!! 🥰 I thought that females were born with their eggs already ‘complete’. How can a mothers life choices effect their dna? Is it only mens life choices that effect the dna of their sperm?

[@hubbadubchub]

I hate university for this reason lololol

[@AndImTheBlondie]

Why am I not learning this in high school? This is the most interesting thing I've learned all week (but it's only Tuesday so)

[@reettata]

I definitely learned this in high school! By reading my textbook. I'm certain that some biology textbooks will include this in their contents -- I think in some cases students don't realize how interesting their textbooks really are

[@ayeshamalfoy1084]

Omg! It is Tuesday. 😂😂😂

[@cammcgregor3598]

@jrowarrior Are you okay?

[@julieannelovesbooks]

In my textbook of my last year of highs cool there was a short paragraph about epigenetics. The teacher didn't explain anything about it and I didn't understand it from the textbook so I came to this video. So even if it's in your textbook some teachers might not even address it.

[@veinteduece6625]

You out of high school yet?

[@DarkSparkCannabis]

This was the best description of Epigenetics I've seen, thanks for making this.

[@rosemedallion2848]

What? You never saw Henrietta Lacks? kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGPPeJV3i7ybqNEsi=Y-oQMg9OJ5kp0K94

[@brittanypryceLCSWCADCIIIYFI]

I love these videos. I'm a substance abuse counselor and psychotherapist - I show your videos all the time to my client groups to explain complex issues linked to mental health and substance use issues. Thank you for making these videos. Greatly appreciated.

[@xxxxfatcatxxxx]

"Normally your parents wouldn't actually do that" Tell it to my juggling and unicycle riding skills.

[@philliparnesen4493]

Wow. Going to research this. But this feels like some really strong motivation to start changing my lifestyle. It won't just be superficial changes it can actually effect my genetic expression. Kind of horrible to think that parents actually have a genetic responsibility toward their children now. Glad I don't smoke or drink, but I am lazy and bad-ish diet (I hop between junk food and really green almost vegan meals).

[@mikepepe241]

Yea man we gotta do the right thing in Gods eyes, a lots at stake

[@hainleysimpson1507]

Said responsibility was never in question people who were physically active early in life and had kids had noticeably fitter and attractive offspring.

[@robertimmanuel577]

my dad started smoking when he was 15. I also started around that age. is it too late?

[@philliparnesen4493]

@@robertimmanuel577 First, it's never too late to make changes. Second, I really doubt there are epigenetic tags related to cigarettes. I would suggest trying vaping. It may not be as good as quitting, but every single cigarette smoker I have known has successfully quit with vaping.

[@francookie9353]

So? How's your life now?

[@jonathonsawyer9440]

Hank describing pregnancy was just beautiful :D

[@ogreer]

I love him 😆🥰

[@Alejandro-Te]

This is exciting. I discovered epigenetics few months ago and since then I can't stop thinking about it.

[@redstaplerguyforlifepastpr5763]

I'm not quite on that level, but I decided can relate, found out at about the same time, and have been thinking a lot about it.

[@rickseiden1]

So, based on the Sweden study, it's possible that our obesity epidemic could be caused by the Great Depression. The people who lived through it would have had much more than they were used to when it was all over, so they ate more. And that got passed down to our parents and to us. I'm going with that. It's all my grandfather's fault!

[@ladyzeiraphera]

There's this thing called the Dutch Hunger Winter, where one winter in Holland tons of people went malnourished suddenly when Germans cut of the supply lines. Children that were conceived during this time are more likely to suffer from obesity and cardiovascular disease than the rest of the population. They also have less methylation of certain genes than their brothers and sisters not subjected to famine during gestation. (source: www.news.leiden.edu/news/dutch-hunger-winter.html) The theory being that the mothers were suddenly really hungry and this coded their children to think that they were being brought into a world where food was scarce and that they needed to conserve it, affecting their metabolisms and accounting for higher rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease. As you say the same might be found in North America, where people are genetically predisposed to hoard food against the famine that never comes. There's a full scientific paper about this from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America (PNAS) here: www.pnas.org/content/107/39/16757.full

[@kyleroddmusic]

I agree with you all the way up to when you blamed your grandfather... Now that we are conscious of the fact we can alter our genes to eradicate this from ourselves and ultimately our children.

[@VelvetCrone]

Not so fast - it's more specific than that. The Great Depreesion wouln't have done and in fact did not do what the DHW did. In Holland those affected were specifically seen in people who were in the 3rd trimester of gestation during the starvation. Other stages didn't produce the same results. And.... a couple other things too - here's a lecture that will explain it - the bit you'll want starts at 54:12

[@Zaina_Anas]

I know this is eight years ago but thank you for taking the time to write that

[@k8eekatt]

Also maternal stress and if mother Ever smoked.

[@innate-videos]

Your lectures are always GREAT! You make the dryest subjects interesting and, more to the point, very informative! Thank you!

[@zelenplav1701]

Hugs, not drugs. Hugging your children, and cuddling your babies, and breast feeding, and having good nutrition while pregnant, treated well, not stressed out, creates better offsprings. Staying home if you don't have to work. Raise your own children.

[@ArnonePamela1]

Ditto....Amen

[@century66s]

First years last forever.....

[@dallassmith230]

But VACCINATE them

[@julieannelovesbooks]

@@dallassmith230 love this comment omg. I know it's a serious problem but oh my did this comment make me laugh. I'm vaccinated btw and I will vaccinate my children once they're born. I just can't imagine how some parents are ignorant enough to not vaccinate their children. It kind of scares me knowing people actually believe not vaccinating their children will do their offspring any good.

[@hainleysimpson1507]

Now consider that those same anti vaccination people can vote own business and can be in positions of power.

[@themilestudios]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO! I've always loved genetics and biology, but I never knew how cells figured out What 'type' of cell they were... since after all, all cells (omitting gametes) have the same genomic makeup. Now I get that it's the Methyl groups and histones that do this!

[@Shenruss]

Also, THIS explains why GOTEN was so much stronger at a younger age than GOHAN! Goku was _Already_ a *Super Saiyan 2* when he was conceived!

[@Shenruss]

***** Science, my friend....science ;-)

[@YujiUedaFan]

I think you mean GOTEN. Gotenks SS3 is still weaker than Ultimate Gohan.

[@Shenruss]

Sigh... duly noted, Yuji. A bit irrelevant, since we all knew what I meant in terms of Goku's sons, but you are right; I stand corrected. I'd need to see some proof to see that the fusion of Goten and Trunks is somehow weaker than Gohan's ultimate form.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Ultimate Gohan was beating Super Buu with Gotenks infused.

[@Shenruss]

The problem with Gotenks, if I remember correctly, wasn't a LACK of power, though, it was that he *1]* Tended to make attacks that were more *visually impressive* than they were effective *2]* He doesn't properly USE his strength in a battle. In actuality, this is a lot different then saying he's "physically weaker" than Gohan, as its really more a matter of application and skill. If you look at it fairly, Gohan has been trained and in life-or-death battle situations from the time he was a baby; first time he used his power when his stroller got away from Goku, he literally burst through a thick tree.. As such, he tended to be a more *effective* fighter. Remember, Goten grew up without Goku's serious training, OR a mega-level threat he had to battle, like Cell or the androids. But the mere fact that Goten could actually attain SSL1 without trying at 8 years old speaks to how powerful he was naturally; Gohan had to endure a year of training in the hyperbolic time chamber and lose his friendly Android before he went SS L 2

[@IgnemFeram01]

So, what you're saying is that I should get off of my ass, get a job, eat better, and actually contribute to society so that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will do the same? Sounds like a damn good idea.

[@jerryharbin305]

Ha ha ha. Well put. LMAO!

[@michelluuuh]

@Jack Smith Incorrectly assumed causal claim over here.

[@Dooshanche]

except it's probably that your ancestors did the same thing that got you on your ass in the first place :D

[@blacklightredlight2945]

Well, maybe. Getting a desk job and playing videogames all day is the same thing to your body. Getting a hard job is terrible for your body, because you don't have time to fully regenerate between shifts. But our society is kind of streamlining the middle grounds out.

[@Ismerich]

I've been subscribed for years, now going back to college, I find myself in 2022 being sent to a video here from a decade ago. Looks like I've been in the right place for a long time.

[@andreagarris6484]

Great video! I homeschool my children and we have been studying Epigenetics. Your video is the best one we have seen so far! It's so well made and easy to understand! Thank you for creating it!!:)

[@solum_mirari5925]

DAMNIT GRANDMA

[@elementdolphin5527]

Melissa Geckensmerf IKR 😂

[@dohitsbridgette434]

😂😁🤣

[@Mazaroth]

"Here is where i keep my genetics" *Opens a fridge stockpiled on junkfood and other shit*

[@Mazaroth]

And on a side note, i am so glad i decided not to procreate, not that i would even get an opportunity or anything like that.

[@jodyfuller158]

I love Hank so much. He has helped me through high school and now through college as a science major. Like for real, is there anything that this man does not know? Not to mention he "dumbs things down" in a way I can understand. So when I go back and do hard readings, I am actually able to know what they're talking about. Thank you Hank. Keep doing you buddy.

[@mksabourinable]

Last week I met a friend of mine's identical twin sister (it was weird at first) and I noticed one had slightly darker hair than the other and one was an inch and half taller. They had no idea why, and I said it probably had something to do with their diet and how they grew up, the shorter one as it turned out hated milk growing up, so never drank it, while the taller liked it just fine

[@iorioriorio]

highly doubtful of the milk factor , since lactose intolerance might play a major part...my guess would be gender differences, and how they grew up; amounts of sun, exercise, and , yes, diet, stress.....stress can cause grey/white hair growth

[@mksabourinable]

the hair thing I wasn't saying the milk thing that was more the height thing and there is no gender difference, don't you know what identical twins are?

[@iorioriorio]

Kate It IS possible to have male - female identical twins...extremely rare though....the embryo can have an extra x chromosome and split into xx and then xy....i thought this was the case here.....anyhow it doesn' t matter, you see, because the twin sister likes to wear high heels....didn't you know that?? I already knew that!

[@23cokebottles]

i immediately thought of the elric brothers

[@mksabourinable]

23cokebottles They aren't twins though

[@nilufareshonkulova5856]

I watched three videos and even slides from the professors, yet didn't understand this topic, but after sir Hank Green video I totally got it. He does it great even for whom with low ability to perceive. 5 stars

[@bazmarto]

I was searching for a vid to explain epigenetic and I was really hoping hank or john had done a video on it. didn't realize scishow was hank! AWESOME

[@marcoscobos8243]

Dude let me tell that I am a tutor and my student didn't understand her teacher anything about epigenetics. And as soon as I explained it your way she was boomed how cool and more clearer it turn out to be

[@brynawaldman5790]

I heard a Swiss geneticist who went back into his own ancestry; which was in the Alps, and his ancestors also got snowed in every winter, sometimes starving a month or two before the spring thaw. The church kept good records. He discovered that the epigenetic benefits of starving for a couple of months during winter reduced all the chronic illnesses significantly, and extended life; a similar result discussed in this clip. In addition he mentioned that an ideal time for reaping the healthy benefits of a couple of months of starving was during adolescence, and an adolescent who starved would pass the benefits down for two generations. He did not mention that starving is always bad for toddlers and babies. Too little food leads to brain damage when one is that young. He did not mention that most (maybe all) hunting gathering cultures had puberty ceremonies in which adolescents and teens fasted for a month or two. Maybe those hunting gathering cultures, through trial and error, know some stuff we are ignorant about . . . . eh? (Trial and error; more than 200, 000 years of hunting gathering compared to 30, 000 years of agriculture and civilization.)

[@Eniroth]

I live in norrbotten, sweden. It's not all bad you know, wish there'd be less mosquitoes though.

[@JFerguson777]

If living above the Arctic Circle doesn't kill them nothing will.

[@miamor5929]

Though would be less mosquitoes 🦟 there

[@wouldntyouliketoknowweathe8066]

"I hope I don't get pregnant" hANK

[@luciferangelica]

john warter that's what they all say

[@emilymarthasorensen1516]

@Rock Stone Well, given that Hank is male, him getting pregnant would be a little weird. ;)

[@FlyingDwarfman]

​@@emilymarthasorensen1516 Yeah. It might mean he got some human version of that crab-infecting parasite that makes both female and male hosts biological become pseudo-pregnant. This comment brought inpired by a different sci show episode.

[@coldwelthsimms5958]

Damn my babies babies and their babies gonna be watching youtube

[@RigelNarcissus]

maybe this is why things run in families, but no genetic links are found...

[@hainleysimpson1507]

Yup like being very fat or muscular.

[@heatherlacy83]

How could 100 people possibly dislike this video? It makes me wonder if they were just unable to comprehend what they were hearing, and therefore WERE UNABLE to enjoy it. Very interesting!

[@dongdestroyer6077]

It's voted down because the dude is inconsistent and says a bunch of weird shit. Heavy editing. Etc.

[@OnlineStoreMentor]

Yay! Thank you for this video. I was having a hard time understanding epigenetics from my psych 11 class' textbook and this video explained in a way that I feel confident about passing my quiz this week. Thanks again!

[@erich8182]

I love how he said "what we smoke" instead of 'if we smoke' lmfao

[@EPlTHANY]

Weed is worse for you than tabacco

[@masario5832]

@@EPlTHANY Almost certain it's the other way around. While marijuana isn't perfect, it actually has medical uses unlike tobacco

[@EPlTHANY]

@@masario5832 Wrong, tobacco massively lowers your chance of getting Alzheimer's. Also weed has 4 times more tar in it than tobacco smoke

[@masario5832]

@@EPlTHANY Alright then, I stand corrected

[@coena9377]

Well, I’m not having kids, so I’m going to have another stack of Oreos. Also thank you, this was a great explanation.

[@Breathingdeeper]

new plan: use epigenetics to express some epicgenetics

[@orinking8064]

@Mike Keller you are an icon

[@HackerGaMing]

HA. HA. Funny. Amazing. Splendid. Spectacular. Fantastic. Marvelous.

[@jayveebvchannel253]

Win over bad genes by practicing self control, trust me it is hard by worth it.

[@RussellRoefer]

Young Hank at work there. You’ve had great videos for many years. Keep ‘em coming.

[@iwnunn7999]

I'm a big fan of Bruce Lipton. You give a clear and fun explanation of epigenetics. GREAT JOB!

[@googelplussucksys5889]

IW Nunn Bruce Lipton seems like a nut to me.

[@iwnunn7999]

We've all been called nuts at one point or other

[@googelplussucksys5889]

IW Nunn I haven't. Bruce on the other hand has abandoned all science a long time ago.

[@iwnunn7999]

That you know about. Bruce is apparently on a path that works for him. I thank him for putting out there the things that I can use in my life and wish him well as I do you.

[@googelplussucksys5889]

IW Nunn"Works for him" doesn't mean he is doing science and doesn't mean he isn't crazy as shit. His website mentions his “recent reports” dated 1972 to 2001…

[@MaxOakland]

I’m still trying to figure out if this is the same Hank that is on this channel now. His way of talking is so different and he looks pretty different too

[@MsRainingDays]

Haha, the 2010s were a strange time hundreds of years ago. Like what were these jokes

[@artemkras]

hey scishow! I think you should make subtitles in different languages, or let your community do it. Wanted to share this vid with a friend of mine who does not speak English, but there were no subtitles. To me, your channel is like a little youtube wikipedia )

[@peterpeter3536]

Well done. Its hard to find such an explicit definition of epigenetics. You are an excellent guide to greater undetstanding of this puzzling world!

[@3possumsinatrenchcoat]

i love how the graphics imply face tattoos are (epi)genetically inherited.

[@Hartofafool]

This is so interesting this has lead me to decide that I want to study this in depth in college.

[@CraftnMomma]

Best description of labor ever!!

[@thomasball3532]

From 4:45: 'And then with those bad instructions cells become abnormal and become a disease, and then basically all hell breaks loose and you get cancer or something.' How prescient of Hank, considering his later diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma - which I am very glad he beat. I hope he blamed someone already long dead : ). This was a particularly good episode, both in terms of analogies and science AND humor. May you make many more episodes for many years to come, Hank Green! : D. And may the epigenetics be with you, always (and not against you, coz, you know..).

[@Roeland909]

Stumbled upon this after watching a gaming channel with 2 presenters with incredibly awkward and cringy humor all the time (which they all have), and was amused and enjoyed the information. Like + sub.

[@Ben-rz9cf]

Your metabolism can actually change to adjust to diet and exercise habits over the course of about 6 months. The human body likes to stay where its at, so if you keep it in a perpetual state of six pack abs for long enough, it will adjust to maintain those 6 pack abs. You need to slack on your routine for 6 months to start losing sizeable gains.

[@DerLadyGaGaFan]

yes that's exactly what I read about the 'agouti mice'

[@iuliafaur7428]

+Ben Hinman You give me hope. Recon the physical changes giving the six pack prompt a change in methylation patterns? Would you be able to give me a source on your comment?

[@Ben-rz9cf]

+Iulia Faur Oh i'm not saying its easy getting there. I've never had a full washboard six pack, but i've had some pretty nice abs for a while and its been a long time since i worked out and i have been seriously slacking off and not losing my body shape. I used to be super skinny in college and as a kid i was super fat and couldn't lose weight. So some of it is down to personal experiences but i really started to learn about how to control my metabolism after taking a nutrition class in high school and the teacher was on the california board of dieticians and she broke down some of the different epigenetic stuff, and cell cycles and stuff. Supposedly every 7 years your body replaces every cell in your body, thats not true, its actually different intervals for different parts (your brain cells will last for life but your stomach cells get replaced daily). But she explained it like your body was a rubber band that would snap back to where it was at and it likes to stay there, but if you hold that for 6 months your body and metabolist will adjust and come to expect that.

[@TheErudite21]

Which will explain why I've managed to maintain my 6pack since middle school... was always skinny, could never gain weight... but i also ended up going on work out binges every few months... I once was able to get up to an 8pack in highschool due to wrestling... but I've come back down to a six after the year ended and I stopped working out so hard. Interesting stuff, our body. SO awesome and thanks for the info!

[@krashd]

This would explain how evolution works, I've always wondered why if we are always passing on the exact same DNA (albeit spliced with someone else's to make a baby) then how can it ever create something new? It's just a mix of both parents building blocks... But if epigenomes are instruction tags that say how much we utilised specific genes through our life and how much we relied on creating more of specific cells then it means we can pass on traits. Not just our structure, but how it worked in it's environment, which enzymes we created most of because we had a weakness for chocolate, which cytokines we needed most of because we were susceptible to the Flu. Scientists stated about 5 years ago that the biggest noticeable change in humans in generations is thumbs are now more dextrous than ever before due to remote controls and video games and the like, if that is true then wear and tear around our thumbs must be pretty high and our epigenome has taken notes and instructed that the next use of our DNA should contain stronger cells in the weakest areas. So we create a sprog with like 4.1% stronger thumbs :D

[@Sojiebee]

+Rob Fraser variation comes from sexual reproduction/gene mixing and mutations. This is more like icing on the cake.

[@HalcyonSerenade]

+Rob Fraser Not sure if epigenetics would be enough to explain evolution. At least, not as much as plain ol' genetics. While there's a lot to be said for our non-coding DNA that contains remnants of unused parts and proteins, the bottom line is that those are remnants of things that *used* to be, which can't turn into new things just by being switched on or off (or anywhere in between). Mutations had to happen to generate new combinations, especially if early life didn't have any "unused" information to periodically switch on or off. Mutations actually happen all the time in our everyday lives, but they're usually unnoticeable and inconsequential, and when they're not, natural body functions that "clean up" malformed cells usually get rid of them before they do anything (or, more important, make more mutated cells). Given such a frequency of mutation, it's not hard to believe that a large time scale would give rise to a lot of significant mutations slipping through the cracks and eventually causing change. DNA is frequently copied imperfectly, and it still has a heavier swing on big-picture organism function than the epigenome, as far as we currently understand their roles.

[@pcdispatch]

It seems like epigenetics makes it possible for humans to quickly adapt to changes in our environment. Evolution is a slower process and on a different level.

[@treebendsinthewind]

Great video. Seems to emphasize the uncontrollable consequence of inherited genes, rather than the malleability of genes through lifestyle choice. If I'm not mistaken the switches of the methyl group and the knob of the histons is highly influenced by how you choose to live your life. So you, to a great extent, can "choose" which genes to exert. Take that pre-destiny

[@ghastmaskzombie]

So what I got from this was that Lamarckism wasn't entirely wrong.

[@francookie9353]

Yes! I like that too :D

[@domolarkin1759]

You have saved so many people in school, we thank you.

[@sollardsurman7293]

Such a wonderful addition to the case for genetic determinism yet nurture is far more powerful for each and every person. Early Childhood Education should be taught in HS but we don't want people to have smarter and more adaptive children.

[@orinking8064]

our system requires education turns our youth into cogs in a machine, workers with low creativity and imagination. it truly is a shame.

[@dw6037]

Excellent work on describing epigenetics. I often send people who want to learn about the subject to this video. Well done.

[@karimsarif8934]

couple things: 1. I was surprised when you didn't blast smokers affecting their babies w/ second hand smoke at 5:12 2. isn't epigenetics just expressing your genome due to environmental factors? How would this be heritable? 3. If that town in Norbotten was so isolated, how did they determine that the difference in life expectancy wasn't due to genetic differences? I mean this is a super isolated population, there could've been a bottleneck and selective pressure for people with slower metabolisms. It could all be within their genome. Unless they sequenced members from the populous and found little variance to conserved sites in a majority population of the other genomes, in which case disregard this

[@rrrrrrktjtj]

Yes but if you listened you would actually learn that changes in the epigenome can actually be hereditary (i.e the sperm carries this epimutation with it and affects the fetus)

[@Shri100percent]

Karim Sarif you have to remember hes explaining this to the general public and that if he overcomplicates things they will lose interest

[@karimsarif8934]

That is a very valid point; good day to you sirs, my argument is invalid

[@Pooua]

My mom used to work in a biology lab doing research on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They discovered that if the parents, especially the mother (to a smaller extent the father) consumes alcohol, it increases the risk of FAS in the offspring for up to 3 generations. My mom's boss said it was like it says in the Bible, "for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." (Exodus 20:5)

[@AlphaWolf096]

I thought of that too while watching this.

[@Pooua]

TheSeductiveArts I'm intrigued that you manage to make a statement that is both anti-religious and anti-science.

[@McSnezzly]

I'm intrigued that you managed to connect science and anti-science.

[@Pooua]

McSnezzly I didn't connect science and anti-science.

[@McSnezzly]

Richard Alexander Just referring to religion being anti-science, since many of those who believe in the Bible being the word of God also reject evolution, the big bang, etc, and want creationism taught in schools as a legitimate science.

[@nightngalerayne9406]

Now i have a reason to get healthier and never smoke or drink. YAY

[@Hoppitot]

as if you didnt before lmao

[@zuhairmehdee]

I enjoyed this more than I enjoy the more recent SciShow episodes.

[@calliedalton1703]

watching this vid was actually assigned to me in bio class lol, best assignment ever..

[@mattmccgowan]

if your not having kids you don't need to feel guilty about Epigenetics

[@Belboz99]

Dip Schillips Knowing your genes are going to suck enough to willingly remove them from the gene pool... Darwin would be so proud.

[@metalfuelandfire]

Dip Schillips Well if you don't become a healthy good parent, then who will produce intelligent and untraumatized children? It certainly won't be the single mothers living off of welfare financed at your expense.

[@agentwashingtub9167]

Metal Fuel and Fire Maybe they just don't like kids.

[@metalfuelandfire]

+AgentWashingtub Well the reason that you were born in the first place is somebody "liked kids" enough to be willing to contribute the inordinate amount of resources and attention needed to raise a child. Don't you think it's the right thing for a capable competent and empathetic person to pass on that gift? The world is sorely lacking in good parenting and awash in damaged people falling on ducks and ending up destroying the empathy of the next generation.

[@agentwashingtub9167]

Metal Fuel and Fire But the word is also edging to wards over population and I see no reason to contribute to that.

[@raptorkil]

i should stop being depressed

[@beth8775]

raptorkil It's hard to tell how serious (or not) people are being here in the comments, but having suffered from severe depression myself, I tend to err on the side of serious. So I highly recommend a book called "Feeling Good". I can't remember the authors name right now, but it's easy to find and inexpensive. It's based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It wasn't the whole puzzle for me, but it was very helpful.

[@pikachulove5468]

raptorkil just don't breed.. :/

[@chloroplast8611]

so here we have a helpfull comment and a not helpful comment which would you choose?

[@jamesoliver9138]

Check out why you lack 90 essential minerals for life. This is crap

[@Benjamin72297]

I already have more control over anxiety and depression than both of my parents did. There is hope

[@djkb125]

I know a small bit about epigenetics but I thought your explanation was amazing. I have a much better understanding now. :)

[@deksroning125]

Uhm, lifestyle and dietary changes do affect genes as well (switch them on or off). So the 'damage has already been done' only works if you as an individual do nothing to remedy the situation.

[@jovas14rocks]

so how did those methyl groups get there in the first place?

[@swethasavala1]

They are already present in the chemical compostion of a gene.

[@scruffydynamite7711]

Smoking meth duh

[@jovas14rocks]

hhahah look of the drug called methylphenidate

[@whitesheatingairappliancer7101]

It would be from there addictive genes, that they must inherit. So this all falls on Adam and eve. Eve started it all and Adam had to follow. Lol

[@emilyblack7342]

In my grade there are these triplets. Two girls and a boy. The girls are identical and the boy is obviously fraternal. I swear, I can't tell the two girls apart. Is it rare to have fraternal/identical triplets? Just wondering

[@oTzRxz]

not really

[@540iDavid]

That analogy is better used and easier to understand with capitalizing different letters since most people would view the punctuation as moving a character (or gene/nucleotide), while they would view the capitalization as a change in form rather that character (I hope I kind of conveyed my point...).

[@JohnSmith-qq7fm]

Maybe Lamarkian Evolution wasn't as far off as originally thought

[@alonir101]

+John Smith The mechanism of Lamark was wrong, most odds. But the end outcome of his idea may still be true

[@HalcyonSerenade]

+John Smith Just what I was thinking. Pretty ironic. Lamarck was still pretty far off though, but at least epigenetics lends some evidence that he was at least a tiny bit right in really obscure, indirect ways.

[@luciferangelica]

Jack Smith no one here said that. lamarckian evolution is just like evolution tends to make huge leaps, due to disaster or whatevs, instead of in small, gradual increments. if i slaughtered that explanation, anyone who can do better feel free to correct me

[@luciferangelica]

Jack Smith ok. i was trying to explain something to you that i was under the impression you didn't understand, not because i feel like i'm any kind of expert, but because it seemed like no one else here bothered to try. if you already know, and better than i do, then good. have a nice day

[@chernobylcoleslaw6698]

Oh snap!

[@theincarnationofboredom207]

You missed a good chance for a pun at 6:46 "isolated" "ICE-olated"

[@tomstar132]

The incarnation of boredom What killed the dinosaurs?

[@futurestoryteller]

This was pretty obvious to me. I first learned about genetics in elementary school (I was interested in Jurassic Park) so when I read about it, I just assumed that your environment must effect your DNA, and you must be able to pass on the changed DNA to your kids, otherwise how do you even explain hereditary genes? Wouldn't we all basically have the same DNA, if our environment had no effect on it? So the first time I heard about hereditary changes caused by epigenetics I couldn't help but think "That's a breakthrough?"

[@tarnyred1793]

It also explains how we can adjust to the constantly changing environment around us:)

[@laurenbrickett3375]

You are incredible - and you save my life all the time with tough topics, wish more of my professors could be like you! Thank you!

[@itsjustblaze3489]

my dad passed his tennis genes to me. ( he played at our and his former school in their championships. ) And im pretty good at it eventhough i rarely even play it.

[@nightheist2191]

My son goona be god tier video game player 🙄

[@ChitChatBFF]

this has answered many questions I never knew I had😂😂

[@ceegee9159]

I couldn't stop staring at his beard for the first minute or so lol..I was like woah Hank has a beard!! Lol

[@missmeliss2010]

Thank you so much for this, wow. I was struggling in class to relate this to real life and see how epigenetics was actually working and after watching this twice, I feel so much more understanding of it!

[@Brandond268]

Are there any careers in the field of epigenetics?

[@trulydualcharts]

+brandond268 Go on the jobsearch website & keep typing "Epigeneticist".

[@SnotRockets55]

Cliff Notes : So basically if you're a druggie...even once you quit you pass that genetic information on to your kids. My standards just SKYROCKETED.

[@dojowest]

not exactly, your epigenetics is forever changing

[@account4345]

dojo west. tv And most is not passed onto the kids. It’s a pretty minimal difference in the end.

[@SpazzyMcGee1337]

Wait, but eggs are created before birth. Their genetic code should remain largely unaffected by the environment. Is it only the environment of males that may effect the genetic code of the next generation in this manner?

[@SpazzyMcGee1337]

Ezagtyu But epigenetics makes sense for males passing on genes because they are constantly creating more sperm cells. Had I only watched this video and not asked the question then I might come to the conclusion that only the epigenetics of males has an effect on the genetics of offspring. Do we have a reason to believe females do the same? Do we have a reason to believe it is actually epigenetic and not because of the state of the female body during pregnancy?

[@rachelsager4760]

SpazzyMcGee1337 Eggs are like any other cell in your body - they can be affected by chemical changes at any time during your lifetime, and they also age and experience genetic damage with age, just like the rest of your body. That's why during epigenetic studies we often test eggs and sperm for epigenetic changes.

[@SpazzyMcGee1337]

Rachel Sager They are particularly isolated from the environment relative to sperm cells though as they aren't being constantly being produced. They just, sit there. I would imagine the effect of the environment would be much less significant relative to sperm cells.

[@rachelsager4760]

SpazzyMcGee1337 That's certainly true, especially as far as temperature changes go. Unfortunately there are a lot of difficulties doing research with females versus males because of the various hormonal differences between the two sexes. A lot of the time a study will be restricted to one sex or the other to control for those differences - usually males. So it's not inconceivable that one day we could find out that men are more likely to develop heritable epigenetic changes. Some non-epigenetic studies have found that men who have children when they are older are more likely to have children with mental illnesses or disorders like schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, etc... but this could just as easily be from genetic mutations.

[@chelloington252]

I think you both are confused, and have confused me somewhat...You're talking about eggs and sperm, but from my understanding epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors influences gene expression in fully formed humans, outside of the womb.

[@Sylphiel]

20th century people in Óverkálix,Sweden has gone through tough winter famine. Boys who survived,later bore children who had lesser chance of heart disease,were shorter but lived 32 years longer than descendants of boys who haven't gone hungry. Reference to Minute Earth.

[@grusiturbon]

Överkalix or Overkalix is right spelling.

[@George4943]

Lamarckism writ small. Inheritance of _some_ acquired characteristics.

[@alonir101]

+George Steele Sounds like it

[@HalcyonSerenade]

+George Steele And, frustratingly, very difficult ones to predict or even make sense of once observed.

[@tadsmoll]

Circus Hank keeps distracting me and I have to rewind the video.

[@Zestrayswede]

"In Norrbotten" he says, placing a sticker on Kiruna, Lappland. Norrbotten is on the coast, dang it. Unless he's talking about Norrbottens län which i think is the case.

[@dhop1653]

I love this guys personality. The Arctic Fox hunting in the Arctic after pointing out that the Swedish county of Norrbotten is in the Arctic was funny. Great upload my guy.

[@Mamavation]

Great video!

[@DrywallJackson]

i wish there was a playlist of 2012 scishow episodes because young hank is a dork and i love him

[@Maikol_2]

QUESTION : When it comes to passing on Epigenetic traits. wouldn't it only be from males, as females are born with all the Gametes they will ever have, and men produce new ones throughout their lifetime? Or does you grandmothers smoking habits actually change the histone pattern of the gametes in her ovaries?

[@rachelsager4760]

The second one, in theory. In practice, that's actually an active area of research, and probably depends on the kind of environmental exposure (for instance, maybe diet has an effect but alcohol doesn't but smoking does...)

[@jayalalithabalasubramaniam3000]

Easy To Understand And Happy To Watch Your Way Of Explaining. From Chennai India🇮🇳❤

[@DanJonesKing]

Ok I gotta stop, It's 4:00 am for pete's sake! LEMME SLEEP!

[@CagonDeMierda1548]

intelligence is both a product of genetics and environment. having stimates between of genes 20% to 50% percent determinant of an individuals intelligence.

[@MrCoolcal20]

Wow, the second sentence you typed is just incoherent...

[@CagonDeMierda1548]

makes pretty good sense to me, I am foreign. The grammar in the sentence might have been wrong, in that case excuse my bad english.

[@MrCoolcal20]

Stimate isn't a word, and determinant is a noun. I'm guessing you meant "It's estimated that between 20% and 50% of an Individual's intelligence is determined by genes", but I'm not entirely sure.

[@CagonDeMierda1548]

yes I meant that, excuse my really bad grammar, I am foreign and it was trully late when I wrote the comment.

[@MrCoolcal20]

CagonDeMierda1548 No worries man, I know how tricky foreign languages can be.

[@notjustanotherguy739]

Haha, so thank you mom for being so healthy and taking care of yourself long before I was even born 😂🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 Whatever if this is true or not... she's a mom and she'll be glad to hear that she did something good. 😂😂 "Hey mom thanks for being healthy when you where young!" lol

[@ScarlettAliceAngel]

This explains everything. I grew up without knowing my dad and was raised only by my mom and her side of the family. They are basically the complete opposite from my dad when it comes to personality and behavior. They tried their best to raise me to become just like them but I still turned out very differently. I always felt that I was the odd one in my family and I couldn't explain why. I had talents and flaws nobody else had. Then I met my dad and wow. That's when I knew that personality, interests, habits and talents are inherited. That's the only way to explain why I'm almost the same like this stranger I last met when I was a baby and who had zero influence on my upbringing. So it's called epigenetics, huh? Fascinating.

[@andrewvanderschaaf2967]

Shall we develop nanobots to edit epigenetics?

[@tania-melnyczuk]

Try CRISPR.

[@damenwhelan3236]

Just start smoking and drinking rapeseed oil like water.

[@CrankmasterD]

Not sure if crispr would be applicable to manipulating epigenetics. As far as I know it only allows you to cut and replace a genetic sequence not affect the volume at which a gene is expressed. But from the little depth I have about the matter I would say that the progress we currently have with the crispr gene editing tool; we wouldn't be able impact someones epigenetics. We would mostly likely need to develop another tool to combat with crispr to impact the genes expression.

[@alkahest--1135]

r/iamverysmart

[@samuelskillern7365]

r/you'reonlysmartifyougetit

[@JaiKrishna787]

Epigenetics (above genome) is really really cool science. I ❤❤❤ Scishow and Hank Green you are awesome science presenter😘😘😘

[@alexricky87]

Interesting video. I wonder what the effect of slavery had on African people?

[@meredithwilcox1818]

take a look at the nba

[@alexricky87]

Adelester what about the NBA?

[@beth8775]

I would say resiliency.

[@brysonrowden5322]

Oh it's screwed up the black community. Look at the need for white acceptance and self hatred. On the other hand we are resilient and we have so much strength and spirit.

[@mtsmashgamer0759]

Meredith Wilcox also track and field

[@SloppySteaks333]

I hope enough people would be interested in having more videos on epigenetics! It is one of my favorite science topics !!!

[@AsbjornGrandt]

If the genes are the hardware, and the epigenetics are the software running the machine, what is the rest of the cell?

[@DrReginaldFinleySr]

Asbjørn Grandt A hardware product?. :-)

[@avirambhalla-levine1854]

Asbjørn Grandt Its the video game of course!

[@AlexanderNielsen]

Asbjørn Grandt The casing and power supply? I mean, that seems obvious, right?

[@bodebliss]

Asbjørn Grandt The rest of the cell is a biological ashram for his holiness DNA.

[@bodebliss]

bodebliss The guy doesn't mention in the same study of deaths and health records from that village that go back centuries that males that were starved between the ages of 9 and 12 fathered children and grandchildren that had few health problems.

[@mnibis591]

Hank, first of all, I love your videos and energy. Although you are correct in saying there are hereditary changes in the epigenome (these are called imprinting marks), the debate on the impact of trans-generational epigenetic inheritance affecting human traits is still ongoing. Some of the studies you are presenting here as solid evidence are very flawed and confounded and should not be taken as final proof (www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2814%2900286-4). This is a very new and "dangerous" field of research, because it's very prone to misinterpretations like this. This being said, I highly doubt KZbin to be the right platform to discuss this, but taking into account this has around 2 million views just thought I'd give it a try...

[@voodoogirl6348]

i watcjed this whilst eating an entire packet of biscuits.....if i have kids they are destined to be round

[@voodoogirl6348]

watched*

[@stxnw]

Please don't have kids then. It'd make them miserable :/

[@Olivia-lv3sp]

I am currently working on a research project about epigenetics for my honors class, and I wish I had seen this video before I had started. It explains things in such a way that makes it much easier to understand than the scholarly journals I had started off reading. The video describes that we are experiencing all these new epidemics, like diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and cancers, that seem to arise from a buildup of epigenetic changes. He also mentions that certain drugs are being invented that can silence the bad epigenetic genes that were supposed to be turned off in the first place. This brings up a discussion about when is modifying one's genes ethically okay and when is it not. I would argue that modifying the epigenome is equivalent to modifying the genome, since the former controls the latter. And it's up to ethics specialists and scientists to decide if modifying a human's genome is okay. It's hard to argue against modifying a genome if one considers that certain epigenetic changes weren't supposed to occur in the first place, or if a human's health or well being can be dramatically changed by it. But one might wonder if this is a slippery slope. If genome modification is practiced regularly in the future for a wide range of diseases or disorders, will we start to believe that it is okay for cosmetic reasons? Will scientists eventually be able to modify the genome to increase intelligence? What about athletic ability? Since epigenetics is such a new field, these questions are not able to be answered, but they're still present in people's heads. Healthcare has the potential to be dramatically changed by the epigenome, and that means that healthcare ethics will need to change too.

[@guillermoflores3199]

+Olivia I like your enthusiasm for this topic. It really is the new "hot topic" of biology. If you haven't looked into CRISPR technology, I'd recommend so. The Chinese have already edited human embryos to remove a disease known as Beta-Thalassemia. Epigenetics can do a lot but it's crucial to remember that epigenetic changes are always happening. DNA methylation, histone methylation/acetylation/phosphorylation/ubiquitination/SUMOylation, chromatin remodeling, and small RNA transcription/processing is a very dynamic process.

[@TheCatMurgatroyd]

except that I never ever want children so I CAN EAT EVERYTHING! YUMMY!

[@commanderbacon6426]

Sure Lock Well that is one way to do it.

[@poketopa1234]

I came here because I wanted to be like "wahhhht?"

[@Sirelliotfr]

omfg my children are going to be lazy. I hate being lazy and always tell my kids they have to have the work ethic i never had. fml

[@zeronothinghere9334]

Please don't force your children to become something ideal that you wish you did yourself. This just comes with so much stress, misunderstandings and unneeded arguments

[@Sirelliotfr]

@@zeronothinghere9334 lmaoooo that’s crazy this was 5 years ago. My work ethic wayyyyyy better now I’m anything but lazy now and my kids will have my work ethic too💪🏾

[@markg1490]

Wow I had not heard about this before. Thank you for sharing. It actually sheds some light on questions that I have had.