http://adultaddstrengths.com/2008/04/14/3-day-conference-focusing-on-adhd-and-stress-in-vancouver/ A Blog about Adults with Attention Surplus Condition (aka ADHD) by Adult ADD Coach Pete Quily Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:54:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 http://adultaddstrengths.com/2008/04/14/3-day-conference-focusing-on-adhd-and-stress-in-vancouver/#comment-595373 » Cognitive, Brain News RoundUp   « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains      Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:32:43 +0000 http://adultaddstrengths.com/?p=375#comment-595373 [...] 2) Conference on Brain Development and Learning: Making Sense of the Science (thanks Pete)  3) 1 in 5 veterans found with mental disorder (Boston Globe) 4) Common Medications May Harm Memory in Older People (U.S. News & World Report) 5) Men More Likely to Develop Cognitive Problems (Forbes) For more on these news, and commentary: 1) A Paradigm Shift in Genetics (Philadelphia Inquirer) - "Our understanding of genetics is currently undergoing a paradigm shift," says Melanie Ehrlich, a molecular biologist at the Tulane Cancer Center. "It is now commonly acknowledged among scientists that it is not enough to look to DNA as the sole determinant of heredity." Ehrlich is referring to the emerging field known as epigenetics. - Scientists are now learning that the epigenome is highly sensitive to its environment. The food you eat, the air you breathe, and the stress or happiness you feel can actually alter your genetic makeup - not by changing the sequence of your DNA, but by deciding which genes are expressed. - Biologists have long known that our bodies and behaviors are shaped in part by nature and in part by nurture, but the exact link between gene and environment had always been fuzzy. Now, it is coming into focus: The link is the epigenome. - Epigenetics is opening up a whole new window on the nature of disease. Many cancers, for instance, are not genetic in origin - caused by one or more mutations to our DNA - but epigenetic. "We finally understand that abnormal epigenetic changes are just as important for cancer formation and development as are genetic mutations," Ehrlich says. "Without epigenetic changes, human cancers would probably be rare." The same is believed to be true for autoimmune diseases, diabetes and depression. Comment: this is a superb article on epigenetics and "genetic determinism". Given the growing discussion on the value of genetic testing, we often think the missing question is, "what are people supposed to do once they receive the results"? stress and depression can increase the risk of a variety of mental health problems, vs. good lifestyle habits that can lower it, so companies offering testing and their clients really should be paying attention to that follow-up. More are more biologists are excited about epigenetics, or how our own lives and environments are what turn on and off those genes, getting rid of the idea of genetic determinism (except for a few rare conditions). [...] [...] 2) Conference on Brain Development and Learning: Making Sense of the Science (thanks Pete)  3) 1 in 5 veterans found with mental disorder (Boston Globe) 4) Common Medications May Harm Memory in Older People (U.S. News & World Report) 5) Men More Likely to Develop Cognitive Problems (Forbes) For more on these news, and commentary: 1) A Paradigm Shift in Genetics (Philadelphia Inquirer) - "Our understanding of genetics is currently undergoing a paradigm shift," says Melanie Ehrlich, a molecular biologist at the Tulane Cancer Center. "It is now commonly acknowledged among scientists that it is not enough to look to DNA as the sole determinant of heredity." Ehrlich is referring to the emerging field known as epigenetics. - Scientists are now learning that the epigenome is highly sensitive to its environment. The food you eat, the air you breathe, and the stress or happiness you feel can actually alter your genetic makeup - not by changing the sequence of your DNA, but by deciding which genes are expressed. - Biologists have long known that our bodies and behaviors are shaped in part by nature and in part by nurture, but the exact link between gene and environment had always been fuzzy. Now, it is coming into focus: The link is the epigenome. - Epigenetics is opening up a whole new window on the nature of disease. Many cancers, for instance, are not genetic in origin - caused by one or more mutations to our DNA - but epigenetic. "We finally understand that abnormal epigenetic changes are just as important for cancer formation and development as are genetic mutations," Ehrlich says. "Without epigenetic changes, human cancers would probably be rare." The same is believed to be true for autoimmune diseases, diabetes and depression. Comment: this is a superb article on epigenetics and "genetic determinism". Given the growing discussion on the value of genetic testing, we often think the missing question is, "what are people supposed to do once they receive the results"? stress and depression can increase the risk of a variety of mental health problems, vs. good lifestyle habits that can lower it, so companies offering testing and their clients really should be paying attention to that follow-up. More are more biologists are excited about epigenetics, or how our own lives and environments are what turn on and off those genes, getting rid of the idea of genetic determinism (except for a few rare conditions). [...]

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