Gene Expression for Dummies

I’m sure everyone reading this post right now has heard of evolution and I’m quite sure all of you know what that means.
 
Most people think of evolution as a series of random gene mutations that naturally arise over the generations. These mutations create different patterns of behavior, body morphology, and physiological processes.
 
Environmental pressures such as food scarcity and weather changes eliminate those individuals with disadvantageous mutations. The same pressures favor certain other individuals whose mutations match the current conditions. The mutations give these individuals a selective advantage over others who don’t have these mutations.
 
These individuals then produce more offspring who also carry the mutation. The mutation spreads to the rest of the population and confers the advantage on the whole group. What was once a mutation becomes normal and hence a new population develops that is more evolutionarily capable of handling the new conditions.
 
This is the traditional, conventional, Darwinian version of evolution. It’s a genetically deterministic view that shaped a whole generation of scientific thought. This view is based on the idea that our genes dictate who we are, what we’re capable of, and how we cope with the world around us.
 
If we randomly get born with the advantageous mutation, we thrive. If we don’t get born with the mutation, we die out. End of story.
 
We now know that this isn’t the case at all. More recent scientific research shows that our DNA is not as carved in stone as scientists once thought. DNA is always changing and is in fact influenced by our behavior and the environment around us.
 
Our bodies, our senses, and our minds are constantly adapting to environmental conditions, including social conditions. We act and react to these conditions and our behaviors and even our thoughts dictate how genes express themselves.
 
This process happens within each generation, within each individual person’s lifetime, and even on a day-to-day basis. There is virtually nothing we received genetically from our parents that we cannot at least modify through changes in our behavior. This includes physical traits, thinking patterns, and even the outcomes of certain hereditary diseases.
 
If that wasn’t enough, these genetic changes get passed down to the next generation. The old deterministic view of genetic absolutism is in fact not the case at all. Evolution happens exactly the other way around.
 
What actually happens is that everyone—all of us—every living thing on the face of the Earth—is constantly, constantly adapting to conditions both within and outside ourselves. These adaptations are so constant and so universal that we don’t even notice them—unless we go out of our way to change our behavior to alter our lives, our bodies, and our conditions.
 
These constant adaptations affect how our genes express themselves and these are the genetic changes that get passed down to the next generation. This is how we evolve. No one is making us do anything. Our genes aren’t making us do anything. We aren’t victims to our genes or evolutionary processes—not at all.
 
We have a lot more power over what happens to us than we give ourselves credit for. We also have a lot more power over what we pass down to the next generation. It’s up to us to maximize that and make it the best it can be.
 
Once we realize we have this power, we take responsibility for either improving conditions for the next generation and setting future generations up for success. The alternative is to leave them unprepared and living in a world that is falling apart without the tools to fix it.
 
None of us wants that, so we all need to step up and start harnessing this power. We’re responsible for the outcome either way, so which one are we going to choose?
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