Index of articles from the Science in Society Archive on genetics. For articles in other categories, please see the SiS archive menu.
Parents’ Eating Habits Can Affect the Health of Future Generations
Metabolic disease transmitted through sperm RNAs while mothers pass microbiome diversity to their children
Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji 8th February 2016
Sperm-Mediated Inheritance of Acquired Characters
Heredity does not just depend on DNA in chromosomes or organelles, loose sequences of RNA and DNA can be independently inherited, and readily taken up by sperm cells to transfer the father’s acquired characters to the fertilized egg; this underscores the trans-generational hazards of new toxins and nucleic acids introduced into our food chain via genetically modified organisms
Dr Mae-Wan Ho 14th July 2014
RNA Inheritance of Acquired Characters
RNA not only registers epigenetic change as the organism responds to the environment, it also transmits acquired genetic information to subsequent generations independently of DNA, highlighting the potential perils of using RNA interference in GMOs
Dr Mae-Wan Ho 2nd July 2014
Non-Coding RNA and Evolution of Complexity
Non-coding DNA in genomes increases in concert with the increase in developmental complexity in evolution, and is consonant with the important regulatory roles identified for the many classes of non-coding RNAs transcribed from more than 85 % of the DNA regarded as ‘junk’ not so long ago
Dr Mae-Wan Ho 16th June 2014
Evolution by Natural Genetic Engineering
New findings in genetics show that evolution happens by precisely targeted natural genetic engineering and not by the natural selection of random mutations, says leading molecular biologist James Shapiro, but what are the implications for the safety of GMOs and social policies?
Dr Mae Wan Ho 2nd June 2014
Non-Random Directed Mutations Confirmed
The neo-Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection of random mutations should be consigned to history where it belongs; electromagnetic intercommunication and resonance may be involved in activating and mutating just the right genes
Dr Mae-Wan Ho 7th October 2013
Genetic Explanation Sense and Nonsense
A team of genetic experts argue that treating genes as the holy grail of our physical being is a patently unscientific endeavour. A new book Edited by Sheldon Krimsky and Jeremy Gruber, Harvard University Press
ISIS 6th March 2013
Non-genetic Inheritance of Longevity
Increased longevity passed down generations of worms through epigenetic changes despite unaltered genomes
Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji 8th May 2012
How to Increase the Brain Power and Health of a Nation
Abundant evidence points to the enormous potential for improving intellectual abilities (and health) through simple environmental and social interventions
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 1st February 2012
No Genes for Intelligence
Extensive genome-wide scans have failed to find a single gene for intelligence; instead, environment and maternal effects may account for most, if not all correlation among relatives, while identical twins diverge genetically and epigenetically throughout life
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 30th January 2012
Mystery of Missing Heritability Solved?
Genome-wide scans for genes that determine susceptibility to common diseases have yielded little because most of those genes do not exist; disease genomics is a science fantasy that wastes time and money while the health of the nation deteriorates
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 25th January 2012
How Food Affects Genes
Tiny RNA molecules in food eaten can circulate in the bloodstream and turn genes off in the body; what are the implications of eating genetically modified food?
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 30th November 2011
Mismatch of RNA to DNA Widespread
The latest episode in the unfolding saga of the fluid genome reveals widespread non-random changes in the RNA messages transcribed from genomic DNA
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 23rd November 2011
Genes Don't Generate Body Patterns
Time to end the obsession with genes and pay more attention to dynamic processes that generate patterns and forms
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 28th September 2011
Celebrating the Uses of Human Genome Diversity
Human genome diversity has been successfully used to chart the fascinating prehistory of human evolution but controversies continue over the commercial exploitation of human cells and genes and the lack of honesty and respect for participants on the part of scientists
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 29th July 2010
Nurturing Nature
How Parental Care Changes Genes
Essay in honour of Ruth Hubbard By Mae-Wan Ho
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 21st July 2010
Synthetic Life? Not By a Long Shot
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho exposes the hype that scientists have created life but is cautiously optimistic provided no patents are granted on life, synthetic or otherwise
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 24th May 2010
Intercommunication via Circulating Nucleic Acids
DNA and RNA circulating in the bloodstream are offering golden opportunities for disease diagnosis and may play an important role in intercommunication between cells
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 20th April 2009
Darwin’s Pangenesis, the Hidden History of Genetics, & the Dangers of GMOs
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho uncovers a fascinating page in the history of genetics expurgated from the mainstream account that also tells us why genetic modification is so dangerous
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 15th April 2009
Epigenetic Inheritance through Sperm Cells, the Lamarckian Dimension in Evolution
Dimension in Evolution
New findings on the molecular mechanisms whereby epigenetic changes acquired during development can be transmitted to the next generation via sperm cells are vindicating Lamarck’s theory of evolution that had been completely eclipsed by Darwin’s followers for over a century
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 23rd March 2009
Rewriting the Genetic Text in Human Brain Development
How adaptive epigenetic changes that can rewrite genes contribute to human brain development and evolution
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 28th January 2009
Epigenetic Toxicology
Environmental toxins can modify our genes and affect our children and grandchildren; enormous implications for risk assessment of synthetic chemical and other xenobiotics
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 21st January 2009
From Genomics to Epigenomics
Decades of sequencing and dissecting the human genome have confirmed that the real causes of ill health are environmental and social. It is not the genetic messages encoded in genomic DNA but environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications that overwhelmingly determine people’s health and well-being
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 19th January 2009
Caring Mothers Strike Fatal Blow against Genetic Determinism
New research on maternal care puts the environment and epigenetic potential at centre stage of how organisms shape their lives and the lives of their offspring
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 14th January 2009
Epigenetic Inheritance - What Genes Remember
Epigenetic inheritance of acquired characters more powerful than inheritance of genes. The experience of one generation can modify genes passed on to the next via a variety of mechanisms that blur the distinction between epigenetic and genetic
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 12th January 2009