9/5/2023 0 Comments Chronological age definition![]() ![]() “Exercise, being exposed to changes in temperature by not just being in an air-conditioned room all the time, and so on, these kinds of things might make us more resilient,” she added. On the other hand, Sen points out that mild levels of environmental stress can be beneficial. Certain regions of your skin cells’ genomes are going to react to that and produce byproducts that may not be good for our skin.” “Let’s say you go to the beach and you get exposed to a lot of ultraviolet rays. “Our epigenetic processes are under exquisite control in our bodies, but they are also extremely influenced by the environment,” Sen said. This process is known as gene regulation.Ī variety of other biological interactions are involved, but in general, epigenetics provides an additional layer of instructions that can affect where and when our genes are expressed that doesn’t change the genetic code itself. This, in effect, turns them “off” so they won’t be read. Conversely, other chemicals in the body, especially compounds called methyl groups, at certain positions on histones, can alter the spacing and organization of genes. This is called gene expression, which starts the process to create the proteins that are the building blocks of the cell activity and growth connected to that gene. Their spacing and organization is affected by exposure to various chemicals, both those that are found naturally inside our bodies as well as those that originate from our environment including food, drugs, and toxins.Īs DNA’s spacing and organization changes, different genes become accessible to other parts of our bodies’ genetic machinery that “read” genes and turn them on. Similar to clothespins arranged in intricate three-dimensional patterns on a winding clothesline, nucleosomes can be spaced tightly or far apart. “If you drew out the DNA that's wound up inside of just one cell nucleus, it would be six feet long,” she added.ĭNA inside the cell nucleus is highly organized and specifically structured, wound around proteins called histones, which are proteins found in cell nuclei that impact the packing and formation of DNA, into structures known as nucleosomes. Inside the nuclei of cells from all living things, each of those tightly coiled, very long DNA strands contain a set of instructions to build that organism. The first step to better understanding epigenetics, Sen said, is understanding the intricate way long strands of DNA are packaged inside our cells. Her lab is currently focused on whether liver tissue and cells can be restored to a younger state to heal the damage from aging, disease, or injury. Payel Sen, Ph.D., a Stadtman investigator with the NIA Intramural Research Program, leads a team using epigenetic techniques to study the repair of aging or damaged cells. Environmental factors such as stress and trauma or even neighborhoods or zip codes may also have an impact.Īs part of NIA’s work to increase health span - the part of a person’s life during which he or she is generally in good health - several NIA-funded researchers are accelerating understanding of these epigenetic markers and mechanisms of aging. Different lifestyle and behavioral factors such as diet, sleep, exercise, smoking, and drinking alcohol can also affect the composition and location of the chemical groups that bind to our DNA. Genes are made of a chemical called DNA.Įpigenetic changes are vital to normal biological functioning and can affect natural cycles of cellular death, renewal, and senescence. This area of research involves the study of how our behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work. ![]() The word “epigenetics” is derived from the Greek word “epi”, meaning “over” or “above,” and in this case, over or above the genome.
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