DNA changes throughout life. Do genes (DNA) change during a person's life? And if they change, then with what frequency? (see comments)? The oldest war on earth

Before answering the question, it is still necessary to conduct a brief educational program on genetics.

1. All multicellular organisms, including us, contain a complete genome in each cell.
2. The genome of each cell can mutate under the influence of various factors.
3. Mutations in cellular DNA are transmitted ONLY to daughter cells
4. ONLY mutations in germ cells can be inherited
5. Not all DNA is made up of genes, but only a relatively small part of it.
6. Most mutations do nothing at all.
   For a better understanding of what is happening in general, it would be nice to break the stereotypes a bit and look at multicellular organisms as huge colonies of unicellular organisms (this is not that far from the truth, if that). When an egg is fertilized, it begins to divide. And all the cells of the body (be it the liver, brain or retina) are direct "daughters" of the very fertilized egg, and each of them, despite the external and functional difference, is in fact its clone in a certain generation. We are not worried about how differentiation occurs now, this is a separate and very large topic. It is only important to grasp the moment that the behavior and functionality of a cell is largely determined by the ENVIRONMENT in which it is located.

But we can, with some reservations, consider each cell of the body as a separate organism, which is so specialized that it cannot survive outside the colony. So, from all this megacolony, one type of cells stands out - sex. They live in their pen, quite well isolated from the outside world. These cells are also children of the First Cell, obviously. They do not care what happens in the cells of the intestines, liver, kidneys, eyes and hair follicles. They know themselves to share in their corner, trying to pick up as few mutations as possible. Only mutations in these cells have any chance of being inherited (because not all of them are fertilized). But they, I repeat, are pretty well isolated from most external influences.

Further, what is DNA anyway? It's just a huge molecule. Long polymer. He knows almost NOTHING. Its main advantage is that its chemical-mirror copy is stuck to each DNA molecule. Therefore, the double helix, respectively. If we unwind this molecule, and attach a chemical-mirror copy of it to each rug, we get two identical DNA molecules. An impressive apparatus of protein complexes floats around DNA, which maintains it, repairs it, copies it, and reads information from it. How this happens, again, is a separate huge topic. Here it is important to understand that DNA is just a huge molecule that can act as a carrier of information, and which is easy to copy. It is a passive storage medium.

Since DNA is really huge, in a person it is about 3 billion "letters" long, then when copying it, errors naturally and inevitably occur. Well, plus, of course, some substances like to react with DNA and break it too. The most complex proofreading apparatus is working on this problem, but sometimes errors still penetrate. But then again, it's not all that bad, since most of the DNA does not contain any useful information. Therefore, most mutations do not affect anything at all.

And now the most interesting. About genes.

Genes in general are not a well-formalized concept. As in other things, and much in biology, because all the systems in it are so complex and intricate that several exceptions can be found from almost every rule. Since, let me remind you, DNA is very passive, it can only sit and be damaged, and the body does not even have any regular means of writing into it, there is a staff of protein complexes for its maintenance. On its basis, RNA is synthesized, which synthesizes proteins (with the help of other protein complexes).

There are many varieties of genes, including genes that regulate the activity of other genes, and these genes are regulated by some substances inside the cell, and the amount of the substance is regulated by other genes, which ... well, you understand. Moreover, in a population there are variants of the same gene (these are called alleles). And what each specific gene does is often impossible to say for sure, because there are these huge and intricate networks of mutual influence.

And here begins the complete nightmare of bioinformaticians. Not only is it difficult to figure out all the intricacies of mutual influence, and that one gene can affect a hundred traits, and one trait can be influenced by a hundred genes, there are hundreds of small variations of these genes, and in each organism there are two variants (from dad from mom) and how exactly this collection of alleles will behave in this particular case is extremely difficult to say.

When, from time to time, publications appear in the media about miraculous healing from a deadly disease using autosuggestion, a special diet, bioenergetics, or some other unconventional method, skeptical smiles usually appear on the faces of doctors and scientists.

Even when it comes to indisputable facts, confirmed by modern methods of research, traditional medicine either dismisses them or tries to explain the unexpected recovery of the patient by an error in the initial diagnosis.

However, the American geneticist Bruce Lipton claims that with the help of true faith, solely by the power of thought, a person is indeed able to get rid of any disease. And there is no mysticism in this: Lipton's studies have shown that directed mental influence can change ... the genetic code of an organism.

“The placebo effect has not been canceled”

Over the years, Bruce Lipton specialized in the field of genetic engineering, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, and became the author of a number of studies. All this time, Lipton, like many geneticists and biochemists, believed that a person is a kind of biorobot whose life is subject to a program written in his genes.

Bruce Lipton

From this point of view, genes determine almost everything: features of appearance, abilities and temperament, predisposition to certain diseases and, ultimately, life expectancy. No one can change their personal genetic code, which means that we can only come to terms with what is predetermined by nature.

The turning point in Dr. Lipton's views was his experiments in the late 1980s to study the behavior of the cell membrane. Before that, it was believed in science that it was the genes located in the nucleus of the cell that determine what should be passed through this membrane and what should not. However, Lipton's experiments showed that external influences on a cell can influence the behavior of genes and even lead to a change in their structure.

It only remained to understand whether such changes could be made with the help of mental processes, or, more simply, with the power of thought.

In fact, I did not come up with anything new, says Dr. Lipton. - For centuries, doctors have known the placebo effect - when a patient is offered a neutral substance, claiming that it is a medicine. As a result, the substance actually has a healing effect. But, oddly enough, there has not yet been a scientific explanation for this phenomenon.

My discovery made it possible to give such an explanation: with the help of faith in the healing power of a drug, a person changes the processes taking place in his body, including at the molecular level. He can "turn off" some genes, force others to "turn on" and even change his genetic code.

Following this, I thought of various cases of miraculous healing. Doctors have always dismissed them. But in fact, even if we had only one such case, it should have made doctors think about its nature.

We are all in a hurry for miracles...

Academic science has taken these views of Bruce Lipton with hostility. However, he continued his research, during which he consistently proved that without any drugs it is quite possible to influence the genetic system of the body.

Including, by the way, and with the help of a specially selected diet. So, for one of his experiments, Lipton bred a breed of yellow mice with congenital genetic defects that doom their offspring to overweight and a short life. Then, with the help of a special diet, he ensured that these mice began to give offspring that did not look like their parents - the usual color, thin and living as long as the rest of their relatives.

All this, you see, smacks of Lysenkoism, and therefore the negative attitude of academic scientists to Lipton's ideas was not difficult to predict. Nevertheless, he continued experiments and proved that a similar effect on genes can be achieved with the help of, say, the influence of a strong psychic or through certain physical exercises. The scientific direction that studies the influence of external influences on the genetic code is called "epigenetics".

And yet, Lipton considers the power of thought, what is happening not around, but inside us, to be the main influence that can change the state of our health.

It has long been known that two people can have the same genetic predisposition to cancer, says Lipton. - But one of the disease manifested itself, while the other did not. Why? Yes, because they lived differently: one experienced stress more often than the second; they had different self-esteem and self-awareness, a different train of thought. Today I can say that we are able to control our biological nature; we can influence our genes with the help of thought, faith and aspirations.

The great difference between man and other creatures on Earth lies precisely in the fact that he can change his body, heal himself from deadly diseases and even get rid of hereditary diseases, giving mental instructions to the body for this. We do not have to be victims of our genetic code and life circumstances.

Believe that you can be healed - and you will be cured of any disease. At first glance, everything is extremely simple. But only at first glance...

When awareness is not enough...

If everything were so simple, then most people would easily solve any health problems by saying simple mantras like "I can heal from this ailment", "I believe that my body is able to heal itself" ...

But none of this happens, and, as Lipton explains, it cannot happen if mental attitudes penetrate only into the area of ​​consciousness, which determines only 5% of our mental activity, without affecting the remaining 95% - the subconscious. Simply put, only a few of those who believe in the possibility of self-healing with the help of their brain actually really believe in it - and therefore succeed. Most subconsciously deny this possibility.

Even more precisely: their very subconscious, which, in fact, automatically controls all the processes in our body, rejects such a possibility. At the same time, it (again at the level of automatism) is usually guided by the principle that the probability that something positive will happen to us is much less than the further course of events according to the worst case scenario.

According to Lipton, it is in this way that our subconscious begins to tune in during early childhood, from birth to six years, when the most insignificant events, words intentionally or accidentally spoken by adults, punishments, traumas form the “experience of the subconscious” and, as a result, a person’s personality. Moreover, the very nature of our psyche is arranged in such a way that everything bad that happens to us is deposited in the subconscious much easier than the memory of pleasant and joyful events.

As a result, the "experience of the subconscious" in the vast majority of people is 70% "negative" and only 30% "positive". Thus, in order to really achieve self-healing, it is necessary, at the very least, to change this ratio to the exact opposite. Only in this way can the barrier set by the subconscious mind be broken in the way of the intrusion of the power of our thought into cellular processes and the genetic code.

According to Lipton, the job of many psychics is precisely to break down this barrier. But he suggests that a similar effect can be achieved with the help of hypnosis and other methods. However, most of these methods are still waiting to be discovered. Or just widespread recognition.

After the worldview revolution that occurred for Lipton about a quarter of a century ago, the scientist continued his research in the field of genetics, but at the same time became one of the active organizers of various international forums with the aim of building bridges between traditional and alternative medicine.

At the congresses and seminars he organizes, famous psychologists, doctors, biophysicists and biochemists sit next to all sorts of traditional healers, psychics and even those who call themselves magicians or sorcerers. At the same time, the latter usually demonstrate their capabilities to the audience, and scientists arrange a brainstorming session to try to explain them scientifically.

And at the same time, they are thinking about future experiments that would help to identify and explain the mechanism of the hidden reserves of our body.

It is in this symbiosis of esotericism and modern methods of treatment with the main reliance on the capabilities of the psyche of the patient himself, or, if you like, magic and science, that Bruce Lipton sees the main path for the further development of medicine. Whether he is right or not, time will tell.

Jan Smelyansky

Biohacker Joshua Zayner wants to create a world where everyone is able and entitled to experiment with their DNA. Why not?

“We have some DNA and a syringe here,” Joshua Zayner says in a room full of synthetic biologists and other researchers. He fills the needle and plunges it into the skin. "It will change my muscle genes and give me more muscle mass."

Zayner, a biohacker who experiments with biology in DIY rather than in a conventional lab, gave a talk at the SynBioBeta conference in San Francisco on "A Step-by-Step Guide to Genetically Change Yourself with CRISPR", where other presentations included academics in costumes and young executives of typical biotech start-ups. Unlike the others, he began his speech by handing out samples and booklets that explained the basics of DIY genetic engineering.

Biohacker Zayner spoke at the SynBioBeta conference with a report "A step-by-step guide to genetically change yourself using CRISPR"

If you want to genetically modify yourself, it is not necessarily difficult. When he offered the samples in small bags to the crowd, Zayner explained that it took him about five minutes to make the DNA he brought to the presentation. The tube contained Cas9, an enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific location, oriented along the guide RNA, in a gene-editing system known as CRISPR. In this example, it was designed to turn off the myostatin gene, which produces a hormone that limits muscle growth and reduces muscle mass. In a study in China, gene-edited dogs had double their muscle mass. If anyone in the audience wanted to try, they could take the vial home and inject it later. Even dripping it onto your skin, Zeiner said, you'll get an effect, albeit a limited one.

Zainer holds PhDs in molecular biology and biophysics and has also worked as a NASA research assistant on modifying organisms for life on Mars. But he believes that synthetic biology for editing other organisms or oneself could become as easy to use as, for example, a CMS for building a website.

"You don't need to know which promoter to use to get the right gene or piece of DNA to work," he says, using some technical terms from genetic engineering. “You don't want to know which terminator to use, or the origin of replication... A DNA engineer needs to know how to do it. But the only thing you need to know is, well, I want the mushroom to be purple. It shouldn't be more difficult. All this is quite possible - it's just creating an infrastructure and a platform so that anyone can do it.

Of course, the genetic editing app store has yet to be created. But a fair number of biohackers have learned enough to—sometimes recklessly—experiment on themselves. Several people Zayner knows, for example, have begun injecting themselves with myostatin. “This is happening right now,” he says. “All these things have started to appear literally in the last few weeks.” It's too early to tell if the experimenters' injections have improved or caused problems, but some hope to see results in the coming months.

Despite his time in academia, Zayner is clearly not a typical researcher and avoids the idea that experiments should be limited to laboratories. When at NASA he started talking to other biohackers via a mailing list and learned about the problems of those who wanted to do DIY work - suppliers were hard to find and they didn't always send the right orders to those who didn't have a lab - he in 2013 started a business called The ODIN (Open Discovery Institute, and an homage to the Norse god) to send kits and tools to people who wanted to work in their garage or room. In 2015, after deciding to leave NASA because he didn't like working in their conservative environment, he launched a successful fundraising campaign for a DIY CRISPR kit.

“The only thing you need to know is, well, I want the mushroom to be purple. It shouldn't be harder."

In 2016, he sold $200,000 worth of products, including a yeast kit that can be used to fuel glowing bioluminescent beer, an antibiotic detection kit at home, and a complete home lab for the price of a MacBook Pro. In 2017, he expects sales to double. Many kits are simple and most buyers probably don't use them to change themselves (many kits go to schools). But Zayner also hopes that as more knowledge is gained, people will experiment in more unusual ways.

Zainer is selling a complete home biohacking lab for about the price of a MacBook Pro.

He questions whether traditional research methods, such as randomized controlled trials, are the only way to make discoveries, pointing out that in new personalized medicine (such as cancer immunotherapy, which is personalized for each patient), a sample size of one person makes sense. In his speech, he argued that people should be able to experiment on their own if they wanted to; we change our DNA when we drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or breathe dirty city air. Many actions sanctioned by society are more dangerous. “We donate perhaps a million people a year to the car gods,” he said. "If you ask someone, 'Could you get rid of cars?' - No." (Zyner has experimented in many ways, including an extreme DIY fecal transplant, which he says cured his digestive problems, he also helps cancer patients with DIY immunotherapy.)

If you change your DNA, you can then sequence your genome to see if the change has happened. But the garage experiment cannot provide as much information as conventional methods. "You can confirm that you've changed DNA, but that doesn't mean it's safe and effective," says George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School (who also acts as an advisor to Zayner's company, recognizing the value of a biologically literate public in the century biology). “All it does is tell you that you did the right job, but that can be dangerous because you also changed something else. It may not be effective in the sense that not enough cells have been changed, or it may be too late and the damage has already been done.” If a baby is born with microcephaly, for example, changing the genes in his body will most likely not affect his brain.

"We live in an incredible time where we are learning so much about biology and genetics thanks to CRISPR, but we still don't know much about the safety of editing human cells with CRISPR."

Anyone who wants to inject themselves with modified DNA runs the risk of not having enough data, or perhaps any real data, about what might happen to make an informed decision. It probably goes without saying: don't try this at home. “We live in an incredible time where we are learning so much about biology and genetics thanks to CRISPR, but we still don’t know much about the safety of editing human cells with CRISPR,” says Alex Marson, researcher in microbiology and immunology at the University of California in San Francisco and an expert on CRISPR. "It's very important that it goes through rigorous and validated security tests in every case, and done in a responsible way."

In Germany, biohacking is now illegal and a person conducting experiments outside of a licensed laboratory can face a fine of €50,000 or three years in prison. The World Anti-Doping Agency now bans all forms of gene editing in athletes. However, biohacking is not yet regulated in the US. And Zainer doesn't think he should at all, he compares the fears that people were learning how to use synthetic biology to the fears of learning how to use computers in the early 1980s. (He cites a 1981 interview in which Ted Koppel asked Steve Jobs if there was any danger of humans being controlled by computers.) Zayner hopes to continue helping as many people as possible become more “DNA literate.”

“I want to live in a world where people genetically modify themselves. I want to live in a world where all these cool things we see on sci-fi TV shows are real. Maybe I'm crazy and stupid ... but I think it's probably really possible.

That's why he injected himself in front of a crowd at a conference. “I want people to stop arguing about whether or not you can use CRISPR, whether it is okay to genetically modify yourself,” he says. "It's too late: I've made the choice for you. The debate is over. Let's continue. Let's use genetic engineering to help people. Or give them purple skin."

10.04.2015 13.10.2015

The human body contains between 50 and 100 trillion cells, each containing 23 pairs of chromosomes.

The sentence: “You can’t crush genes with your finger” was read and heard by many. The intended meaning of the phrase is what genes a person got from his parents, with those he will walk all his life.

Western scientists have found that 10% of DNA in the human body is involved in the construction of proteins, and 90% of biologists consider DNA "junk" on the grounds that they do not know and do not understand their purpose.

Russian scientist - biophysicist, biologist P. Garyaev, together with colleagues, established and proved by experiments that the "junk" DNA of the human body can change under the influence of sounds of a certain frequency. That is, Russian scientists have proved that miraculous healings of people from deadly diseases (stage 4 cancer, AIDS, diseases of the kidneys, liver, heart) with the help of spells are not quackery or inventions of traditional healers, but a fact that has a scientific explanation.

Now it is possible to explain the impact on the human body of such activities / actions as affirmation, passionate prayer, hypnosis, which can change a person's behavior for the better.

Each person is independently able to change their own DNA for the better with the help of thought, language, word and way of life.

Information on how to get rid of "bad" heredity on your own

The fact that thought is material will not be challenged by the greatest scientist, the conservative. Only the vast majority of people misunderstand the phrase "thought is material." Everyone believes that it is enough to want something, and it should immediately come true. By analogy: a person put all the necessary radio components near him, wrote the word “radio” and waits for the music to play. In order for a set of radio components to become a radio receiver, a person needs to assemble them correctly. The phrase “correctly assemble” is decisive, because when a person needs to get from Bologoye to Moscow, and he goes to St. Petersburg, no matter how intensively he “stomps”, until he turns around, he will not get to Moscow.

In order to change the "bad" heredity, a person must do several mandatory things:

1. Desire to change your genes;

2. Outline the right plan with which you can change your genes;

3. Strictly adhere to the chosen correct plan;

craving

People involved in esotericism know that a passionate desire forms a need, that is, what a person passionately desires becomes necessary. In the universe, mechanisms are being launched by which a person can change his genes. More precisely, these mechanisms have existed since the creation of the Universe, but with his passionate desire, a person presses the “button” that is necessary FOR HIMSELF.

Map out the right plan

Let's look at the "right plan" for a person who is prone to alcoholism because his father "rewarded" such genes.

Such a person gets drunk faster than people who have normal genes, and his internal organs can quickly begin to irreversibly change from the alcohol he takes (cirrhosis of the liver, stroke, heart / kidney disease). It is not enough for such a person to simply “quit drinking”, the genes from such an act do not change, the “sword of Damocles” will always hang over him to go into a binge.

There must be a mental attitude that genes are changing - here and now. And changes will begin to occur, because the biochemical composition of a person will change. Someone will ask: "How and why?" After all, no one questions the fact that an absolutely sober person (did not drink alcohol) behaves like a drunk under the influence of a hypnotist. Think about it, the words of one person produced in another person a change in his biochemical composition and, as a result, his behavior changed.

Proper nutrition, the use of high-quality drinking water (it is necessary to melt), the correct daily routine (sleep from 19 - 00 to 24 - 00 is the most effective) and after a year a glass of alcohol will no longer have such an impact on a person as before realizing that you need what - then change in yourself.

Strictly adhere to the chosen correct plan

Here, perhaps, there is nothing to comment on. The option when we “do exercises” for a week, and then “to relax with a good snack” we drink alcohol will not work - sooner or later, irreversible processes will begin in the human body with all the ensuing consequences.

How medicine can help people change their DNA

At the gene level, there is a predisposition not only to alcoholism, but also to cancer, tuberculosis, heart / kidney / liver diseases and many others. And all these people can be helped to change their lives for the better.

I think that in this article it is not necessary to describe the mechanism of influence on human DNA: ether, torsion fields, electromagnetic oscillations, resonant oscillations - a clear knowledge of these terms will not bring a person predisposed to any disease closer to health.

A change in human DNA in a positive direction will lead to:

· Awareness that he can change it to do;

· Actions in the right direction, his, the patient's, actions, and not the doctor, mom / dad / acquaintances / friends. “The road will be mastered by the walking one”;

A person is 85% water, in old age up to 60%. Therefore, it is difficult to underestimate the importance of high-quality drinking water for human health. Water absorbs and stores the information that a person put into it.

In the morning, after sleep, put a glass of good drinking water on the palm of your left hand, and with the palm of your right hand move clockwise around the glass and confidently say whatever you want it to happen in your body. Just don't doubt that it will happen. Doubts are able to destroy the very powerful construction, remember as in the Bible: "According to your faith it will be to you."

For some reason, people are too lazy to move, even for themselves. If you want to change your DNA, it will definitely happen, only you need to do things.

DNA is a chemical substance that is subject to external influences. These influences can be physical (temperature, ultraviolet and radiation) or chemical (free radicals, carcinogens, etc.).

## Temperature

For every 10 degrees increase in temperature, the rate of a chemical reaction doubles. Of course, in the cell nucleus (where DNA is stored) there are no such temperature drops. But there are small changes that can cause the DNA to react with some substance dissolved nearby.

## ULTRAVIOLET

Ultraviolet affects us almost always. In winter, these are negligible doses. In the summer - significant. If an ultraviolet photon hits a DNA molecule, its energy is enough to form a new chemical bond. Neighboring DNA links (nucleotides) can form an additional bond with each other, which will lead to disruption of DNA reading and replication. Or the UV photon can cause the DNA strand to break due to its high energy.

## RADIATION

radiation radiation. Do you think it is only on the reactor? There is a so-called normal radiation background, that is, several particles fly around and through us every second, and this does not always happen without a trace for our DNA. To understand the magnitude of background radiation, look here.

But don't be afraid. The background is called normal for a reason. Not all particles pass through the skin, not all of those that have penetrated penetrate deeply, and those that have penetrated often crash into other molecules and atoms in the cell, of which there are a lot. Only a few get to DNA, and that may not have any effect on it.

By the way, the higher above the ground, the brighter the background radiation. This is due to cosmic radiation, from which the earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protect us to a greater extent. The farther from the earth, the weaker the magnetic field and the thinner the atmosphere, and more high-energy particles bombard our body.

## FREE RADICALS

Among chemicals, a greater role is given to free radicals, which are constantly formed in the cell. It is a by-product of redox processes, without which life is impossible. Of course, over millions of years of evolution, only those organisms have survived that have developed a system for neutralizing free radicals. We have it too. But nothing is 100% effective, and no, no, a few radicals manage to damage DNA.

Speaking of radiation. It is also responsible for the formation of free radicals. Those high-energy particles that have reacted with substances surrounding DNA often result in the formation of radicals.

## CARCINOGENES

With regard to carcinogens, a good example is benzpyrene, a substance formed during the combustion of coal and hydrocarbons such as gasoline. It is found in exhaust gases and smoke from a fire. Bezpyrene has a high affinity for DNA and is integrated into the DNA structure, thereby disrupting the nucleotide sequence. There are other mechanisms of DNA damage.

Causes are not limited to external influences. The interior kitchen is also not without flaws. DNA is a dynamic molecule that often doubles, constantly unraveling and tangling, changing its position in space. Not all of these processes go smoothly, and DNA strand breaks, rearrangement and even loss of chain sections, and the fusion of several molecules into one can occur. When a cell divides, not all chromosomes can keep up with newly formed cells, and one of the daughter cells may have fewer chromosomes, while the other has more. This is also a mutation.

DNA duplication also occurs not exactly, but with errors. Moreover, each copy is slightly shorter than the original because the edges (telomeres) are difficult to copy. Sooner or later (when we are already old) telomeres shorten so much that the coding sections of DNA fall into the "under the knife".

All this sounds scary, but firstly, mutations are often indifferent and rarely have negative consequences, secondly, in the course of evolution, a DNA damage repair mechanism has arisen that does its job well, and thirdly, the mutation process is a necessary component for evolution. and allows the birth of something that has not yet been in nature.