WSU Researcher Featured on BBC 'Horizon' Program
WSU News Service
November 2, 2005
Washington State University molecular biologist Michael K. Skinner is one of four scientists featured in the Nov. 3 episode of the BBC science program "Horizon." The episode, titled "Ghost in the Gene," explores the growing body of evidence that genes—DNA sequences—are not the only source of heritable traits.
Recent research shows that changes in small chemicals attached to the DNA can turn genes on or off, affecting a wide range of processes including normal development and susceptibility to disease. Such changes are called "epigenetic," meaning "around the genes." Over the past several years, epigenetic changes have been implicated in several kinds of leukemia and in the premature aging of cloned animals such as Dolly the sheep.
"I think this concept that epigenetics is going to play a really important role in biology is just now being appreciated," Skinner said. "It probably is a big piece of the puzzle which we didn't really have before."
In a paper in the journal Science earlier this year, Skinner reported that environmental toxins can cause epigenetic changes in fetal rats that eventually are transmitted to the rats' descendents. Such results show that epigenetic changes can be even more stable in a population than changes to the DNA itself, and raise the possibility that events in a person's lifetime - such as exposure to toxins, stress or disease - could affect that person's descendents several generations later.
According to program notes provided by the BBC, "Horizon explores the ghost world in your genes—the hidden layer of inheritance that lies in every cell of our body." The statement says the show describes the findings, by Skinner and others, that "epigenetic 'switches' control the genes themselves, and that these switches can be turned on and off by environmental factors like nutrition and stress. [The program] reports the startling first evidence that this can cause heritable effects in humans."
Skinner is a professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Director of the Center for Reproductive Biology.
Arrangements have not yet been made for broadcast of the episode in the United States.
"Horizon," a forerunner of science programs such as the PBS staple "Nova," first aired in 1964. A statement from the BBC says the show's mission is "to provide a platform from which some of the world's greatest scientists and philosophers can communicate their curiosity, observations and reflections, and infuse into our common knowledge their changing views of the universe."
With a current audience of 2.5 to 3 million viewers in the United Kingdom, "Horizon" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. GMT on BBC Two.
Lecture Details
Download Dr. Skinner's powerpoint presentation (18 MB)
More About Dr. Skinner
News Releases
WSU Research Among Top 100 Science Stories of 2005
WSU Researcher Featured on BBC ‘Horizon’ Program
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Other Resources
WSU Center for Reproductive Biology
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