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Transmission of epigenetic alterations across generations in mammals

40 points| stevenwoo | 7 days ago |pnas.org

12 comments

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stevenwoo|7 days ago

bonsai_spool|7 days ago

The actual title, which is what should be used on submissions, is "Stability of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of adult-onset disease and parturition abnormalities". If you want to link to the press release, you should link to that—note it also doesn't use your editorialized title.

The article isn't about the fungicide (were the exposures close to what humans experience?) but about the possibility of epigenetic transmission.

Edit: "When pregnancy was confirmed, on days 8 through 14 of gestation [31] the females were administered daily intraperitoneal injections of vinclozolin (100 mg/kg BW/day, Chem Services, Westchester PA, USA)" - not comparable to humans. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6114855/

OutOfHere|7 days ago

Given our careless use of pesticides, fungicides, plasticizers, xenoestrogens, PFAS in pesticides, sewage sludge, and cigarette smoke, we're dooming the population to have a fertility of zero. I understand that the article is about cancer, not fertility, but the general argument of accumulated germline damage prevails. It's no wonder that the West requires immigrants to preserve its population because the domesticated ones don't have children when they're young and can't have children when they're no longer young.

Granted, I don't mean to overlook the economic reasons; it just doesn't excuse the environmental reasons.

zer00eyz|7 days ago

The thing is, that declining birth rates in the west are more about economic and social factors than they are about any environmental concerns.

Birth control, postponing having a first child, economic factors all far outweigh any environmental issue.

Go back 100 years, 25 percent of the us population was farming. Kids weren't a burden they were free labor. Now children represent a massive cost to parents, that does not provide any benefit. Furthermore having kids today, in the west, is, to be blunt, odious. People dont want to have 2.2 children so we can even maintain replacement levels.

xvilka|7 days ago

Nature will find a way to mitigate this, at least long-term. The price will not be small though.