http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/04/04/identical-twins-not-err-identical/ For a greater understanding of the encultured brain and body... Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:12:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/04/04/identical-twins-not-err-identical/#comment-2922 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:10:55 +0000 http://neuroanthropology.wordpress.com/?p=183#comment-2922 [...] already discussed some of the quirks about twins’ genes here (at Identical twins not… err… identical?), and there’s a nice example of genetically identical twin mice looking anything but [...]

]]> http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/04/04/identical-twins-not-err-identical/#comment-2704 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:14:59 +0000 http://neuroanthropology.wordpress.com/?p=183#comment-2704 [...] Epigenetics, although devilishly difficult, is absolutely essential for breaking with the common conception of DNA as ‘blueprint’ or marching orders for biological processes. In biological developmental processes, the expression of DNA is quite a bit more interesting than just ‘genes made it happen.’ Myers lays out a host of good examples, such as the variable degree to which histones permit or inhibit DNA transcription, the inactivation of parts of DNA when methylated, how chromosome geometric arrangement might affect gene expression, and other factors. He also discusses X chromosome inactivation in females (because they have two, one has to shut down), genomic imprinting on non-sex chromosomes (Myers discusses chromosome 15 and some of the disorders that can result), and disease changes in genetic expression (such as liver cirrhosis and retroviral insertions, which I touched on in an earlier posts on ‘identical’ twins). [...]

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