Hello my dear lovelies,
It is 11:53pm EST on Thursday, 4/7, and for the first time this challenge, I have written exactly ZERO words for the next day’s post, which is this post, for G (Friday). I have caught up with my working ahead, and am no longer ahead, but now behind. (Tho H is written, and, go figure, U.)
So, I will do my best to be informative and interesting, but this may not be my best effort, for which I apologize in advance.
Anywho, G is for…
… genetics
Think you know about genes and genetics? Think again. I bet you don’t know much. I know a little, and it ain’t hardly enough to shake a stick at. (Sorry, my Southern is showin’.)
What we do know is that our genes, or our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid; that thingy what looks like a ladder) determine a whole bunch of stuff about us. Like our eye color. And our blood type. This site, yourgenome.org, explains this complicated science-y stuff in an easy-to-understand way. (Go ahead and read it. Then come back. I’ll wait.)
The most intriguing statement, to me anyway, is “The human genome is made of 3.2 billion bases of DNA.” I’m no mathematician (or scientist, obviously), but that’s a big number. And, on another page of that same site, we learn “The DNA code contains instructions needed to make the proteins and molecules essential for our growth, development and health.”
Got that? Our bodies are made up of DNA, and our DNA basically tells our bodies how to behave and how to be healthy.
Within the DNA is a gene, “small sections of DNA within the genome that code for proteins. They contain the instructions for our individual characteristics.” They come in pairs, and there are approximately 20,000 of them.
Following that, we have 23 pairs of chromosomes. (You’re probably aware that people with Down Syndrome have 24 pairs of chromosomes.)
Whew.
And of course, we get our DNA and our genes and our chromosomes from our parents’ DNA.
I was curious as to my blood type. (For some reason I can never remember.) I asked my mom, who told me that she and my father both have A positive blood. Redcross.com has a handy chart that shows the potential blood type you can have based on what your parents have. In my case, I could have either O or A. (I don’t think it’s O; I probably would have remembered that.) (And yeah, I should probably find out.)
I have green eyes. My mom has green eyes, and my dad has green eyes. Supposedly, if the Internet is to be believed, green eyes are pretty rare. But the color is definitely inherited and influenced by genetics.
Now, as part of being a Sick Person, my main doctor recommended that I have my genes tested. Obviously, genes are what they are. They can’t be “fixed” if they are broken. But understanding your genes can help you understand your illnesses.
In my case, I had a DNA Methylation Pathway Profile done of my blood. (Sounds painful, doesn’t it?) (And by the way, they were very specific about the color tube my blood had to be in. Very.) (I would also like to get the genetics test from 23andme.com, because they test for different things and I’m curious about things like my ancestry. I know what I’ve been told, but I’d like confirmation.)
Anywho, the test I had done looked at *30* of my genes. (I’ll spare you the list. You’re welcome.) Of those 30 tested, I have *11* that are mutated, and of those, *three* are double mutations, which means I got a mutated gene from both parents. They are homozygous (+/+), which means both alleles (the little bits that make up a gene) are mutated.
Erm. Yeah.
Now, the report in my hand is careful to say that it “provides information about many facets of health and wellness, with an emphasis on important biochemical processes such as methionine metabolism, detoxification, hormone and neurotransmitter balance, and Vitamin D function” and that it doesn’t mean I actually have a disease. Tho of course I do. A lot of ’em.
The rest of the report, which talks about my mutated genes, is written in such science speak that I can’t understand it. (There’s a reason I majored in communications. And that my only C’s {a mere two of them; the rest were A’s and B’s} in college were in science.)
However, a very important thing I learned from the report is that my MTHFR / A1298C gene is heterozygous (+/-), which means it’s half mutated. Per this very interesting site, the MTHFR gene (and yeah, I know how you’re pronouncing it in your head… go ahead and snigger) is really important to your body’s ability to detox.
In layman’s terms, that means the removal of toxins from your body, which is helped along by your liver, which gets rids of stuff via your pee or poop. Of course, generally people think of alcohol or drug detox, but detoxification also removes fat and poisons and other stuff that’s bad for your body, such as aspartame, carbon dioxide, and bacteria.
In my case, I have a mutation in that gene, so instead of getting rid of toxins, my body is hanging on to them. The article says “The MTHFR enzyme will run at about 55-70% efficiency compared to normal MTHFR enzymes.” Okay, so if my math is correct (and it might not be), 30-45% of toxins are NOT being removed from my body. That’s potentially a lot of toxins. Bad stuff that are hanging around in my body (like that gross Mucinex commercial. Ew.).
Now, I’ve already told you (numerous times) that I have mental illnesses, and that I suffer from a lot of pain. Not surprisingly, two of my COMT genes (V158M and H62H, whatever that means) are double mutated (+/+). That particular gene “helps break down certain neurotransmitters … includ[ing] dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.” In other words, it gives you the feel-good chemicals you need. And it can cause you to feel more pain.
I only understand the headline of this article about the COMT genetic mutation: “A pack of smart, hedonistic creative types with a lot of anxiety.” Erm. But. Describe me, much?
My other double mutation is the MTRR / A66G gene. It means I have “poor methylation of vitamin B12”, and poor “methylation” can cause autoimmune disorders (which I wrote about for my A topic).
Again, there’s not a blasted thing I can do about my poor genes, but I can do things like take methylated vitamin B, and take lots of vitamin D, and change my diet to not eat junk (which I’ve done).
Now, you might be wondering how in the heck genes get mutated. Good question! They can get mutated by the person’s environment (by being out in the sun too long), or they can get mutated at conception. The DNA can, for some reason, make an imperfect copy.
What I find terribly fascinating is that new scientific studies are showing that trauma can actually be passed down from generation to generation via our genes! This article on upliftconnect.com summarizes the ideas, culling from articles published in Discover magazine and The Guardian.
I’ve read lots and lots of articles on this topic (which of course I can’t find now), and it makes a lot of sense to me. How can we not be changed by the experiences of our ancestors?
Is it any wonder I’m such a hot mess when you consider that I am the third generation child to be born when the father was off at war? That my father, and his father, and his father were all in other countries during war, in the military, and my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother were all alone with newborns? (There’s a story there, and someday, I promise to tell it.)
So, there you have it. A whole bunch of words rambled on about genetics, which I’ve finished writing at 2:35am EST. (And for once in my life, I’m not gonna proof it 1,000 times; I’m gonna read it once three times, then hit publish.) (So if you see any errors, please pretty please with sugar on top tell me so I can fix them. It’s impossible to edit your own work.)
With all that talk of mutants I have you pictured in my head as one of the X Men – do you have a superpower? It must be so interesting to have all that information available to you! (btw for proof reading – I noticed you said “each” junk instead of “eat” – just to be helpful) great post – especially for one written so late at night! Leanne @ cresting the hill
Ha! Sadly, I don’t have a special X Men superpower, tho I do say my superpower is editing. But I think that’s just from being a reader, not from being a mutant. (Or maybe it is from being a mutant reader. Hmmmm.)
Yes, the info is interesting – I just wish I understood it more.
And thanks for pointing out the typo – it’s fixed now, so people will think you made it up. 😉
OK….you asked for it so I will edit a sentence you wrote about “that thingy WHAT looks like a ladder” ….as my mother would say (she was a teacher for 28 years) WHAT is a question!!!! It should be that. I send this correction to you with complete love and because I had it mentally beat into my head by mom. Now onto the rest of your rambling. Very fascinating!!! If you think about all the mistakes that could take place during the gestation of a human being it is amazing there are not many more boo boos. I myself went for testing to see if I carried the BRACA gene. It was a nerve wracking 3 month wait to find out….not because I was worried for myself….but because I was so worried about passing it on to my daughter, son, granddaughters etc. I came out negative for the gene and it’s family of genes….amen. I would have felt terrible passing that down even though I really had no idea when I was pregnant that it was even a possibility. A very long time ago I was very into Allen Ginsberg poetry and I had a few of his books…including Starting From San Francisco. I for the life of me cannot remember which book a certain poem was in but the punch line really stuck with me. It was a know- it-all sitting on a park bench with a severly disabled very low IQ man. The know-it- all took the opportunity to pontificate at the low IQ human about all kinds of things to show off how smart he was….knowing the low IQ person wouldn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Finally, mr smarty pants turned to the guy he knew didn’t have a clue and asked “So what do you think about all that?”……The low IQ guy turned to him and said a sentence his brother had taught him……..
IGNORANCE IS BLISS YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, Elaine, Elaine, Elaine! First of all, are you calling me an asshole? Cuz I might resemble that remark. 😉
Also, that error was very much on purpose – it’s a Southernism – and I wrote it that way to be funny, and now I’m gonna LEAVE IT since it bugs you so! HA HA HA!
Yes, the number of “mistakes” that could happen during conception/gestation is quite staggering. I don’t think that there are necessarily more people with, say autism, than there were before, but it wasn’t a known condition many years ago and so wasn’t documented. And those “mistakes” can sometimes be for the better of a species – aren’t you glad we aren’t all still covered in hair/fur? (Well, some of us might be.) (Not me, of course.)
Silly chick!!!! I would NEVER call you an asshole!
wink, wink, nudge, nudge
I was thinking about doing genetic testing to find out more about my ancestry… but Hungary doesn’t have nearly as much material to reference as Western countries do…
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
I can’t tell if 23andme.com does testing for people outside the U.S., but you could contact them to find out. I’m sure they have lots of information on your country, because many Hungarians have emigrated to the U.S. It would be worth a question!
This is fascinating stuff. Just goes to show how very complex a creation a human being is and how, even though we understand so much, we still understand so little about ourselves.
@mirymom1 from
Balancing Act
Very, very true. We are complex and practically unknowable.
This is a brave new world we live in. I’m in awe of all the technological and scientific knowledge that is becoming available to us with such speed. Now that the Genome project has revealed so much about who we are at that level of our humanity, I’m wondering what the Protein Folding project will reveal. Have you read much about it?
I know! The advances in technology are staggering!
No, I haven’t read much about the Protein Folding project. I will have to start.
Genetics is fascinating.
I can vaguely remember that double helix spiral ladder illustration thingy we studied in grade 11 and 12…
As C.Lee mentioned, it’s amazing how much technological and scientific knowledge is available to the public.
Trauma can be passed down? My word. So it’s kind of hereditary?
Yeah, I kept trying to find a good illustration of that “thingy”, but didn’t like any of them, and I was tired, so I gave up. 😉
And yes, the amount of information right at our fingertips is amazing. The difficult part is figuring out what is true.
And yes, the studies are showing that trauma *can* – but not necessarily does – change a person’s genes, and then those mutations/defects can be passed on to the person’s offspring. So, yes, hereditary.
I had to chuckle at your *sniff* *sniff* at my blog.
Don’t worry, there are plenty more books to win.
Just pop in every day and see what takes your fancy. Remember to mention which books you like. 🙂
Writer In Transit
Hee hee. Glad you chuckled. That was my intent. 🙂 I will keep stopping by. Your questions are fun.
As for which books I like? All. The. Books. I’m a self-described BookWhore!
just finished watching The People Vs. OJ Simpson and can’t believe how far DNA has come. Pretty amazing how far things can change and alter.
Joy @ The Joyous Living
Yes, it is. Just think how much more we’ll know in even five years!
Here’s my second attempt…for posterity! 😀 I am fascinated by genetics and equally confused by them. I submitted my own genetic material (saliva…or drool) to 23andMe and it was engrossing reading about all the little inherited traits etc etc. Anyway, great post. I am a little sad you’re not an X-Man though. 😀
YAY! Thanks for trying again, and sorry my blog didn’t like your initial comment.
Ooooh… I’d like to learn more about what your drool means. 🙂
I too am sad I’m not an X-Man. My mutations are all wrong. Pffft.
I have to say I LOVE all the comments to this blog. You brought out all this hilariousness. 🙂
Genetics are interesting. Amazing (and scary) what traits come from our family. Ha!
Most interesting to me is how far forensics has come….Hmmmm…being a lover of reading and watching about fictional crime as well as true crime.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised too!
Yes, unfortunately we can’t blame everything on our parents. Just quite a bit!
Wow, there’s a lot of information there! I think I’m going to go find me some methylated B vitamins, now. I never knew there was more than one kind.
As I replied to Pat, you don’t necessarily need methylated vitamins; your body might do the process correctly. Mine doesn’t. I currently take Methyl Protect, and previously took Orthobiotics and Methylated B/Homocystex.
I can never remember my blood type either. As a person who was absolutely a zero when it comes to Biology, you have explained this very well. Even I can understand it, which says a lot about the quality of instruction from my Biology teacher back then.
Oh, and I also take vitamin B. Don’t know whether they are methylated though.
Excellent post.
Visiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge.
Shalom,
Patricia @ EverythingMustChange
Glad I’m not the only one on the blood type!
And thank you for the compliment (or diss of your biology teacher, LOL). I wasn’t great at any of the sciences, but I’ve tried to educate myself since I’ve become a Sick Person.
You don’t necessarily have to have methylated vitamins if your body handles that process correctly. Mine doesn’t, so my doctor prescribed a supplement called Methyl Protect.
Thanks for dropping by!
I almost took genetics in college but I change my mind when I took basic to genetics. It was so hard and a lot to memorize.
It is really really hard. I never planned to – or wanted to, for that matter! – learn anything about this stuff, but being a Sick Person kinda forced me to.
Thanks for stopping by!
I like your article so much Savannah, more power to you.
Thanks for reading!