Was trauma from Holocaust passed on to children of survivors?

dna genetics

Genetic changes stemming from the trauma suffered by Holocaust survivors are capable of being passed on to their children, the clearest sign yet that one personโ€™s life experience can affect subsequent generations.

โ€œThe gene changes in the children could only be attributed to Holocaust exposure in the parents,โ€ said [Rachel] Yehuda.

The team were specifically interested in one region of a gene associated with…trauma. โ€œIt makes sense to look at this gene,โ€ said Yehuda. โ€œIf thereโ€™s a transmitted effect of trauma, it would be in a stress-related gene that shapes the way we cope with our environment.โ€

They found epigenetic tags on the very same part of this gene in both the Holocaust survivors and their offspring, the same correlation was not found in any of the control group and their children.

โ€œTo our knowledge, this provides the first demonstration of transmission of pre-conception stress effects resulting in epigenetic changes in both the exposed parents and their offspring in humans,โ€ said Yehuda….

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post:ย Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes

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