Add me as well.

6 of one half a dozen of the other

@VLove. what does that mean?

@Algernon it means it's a symbiotic relationship - a two way process. At the moment my DNA is telling me to not bother with vacuuming - therefore my environment is affected by my DNA. A favourite example of the environment affecting the DNA - consider the Welsh and Irish peoples. In General, they are small of stature, slight in build. Centuries of famine and the climate decrees the physiognomy.

@VLove, and a dirty room could cause you harm hence affect your DNA chances of survival and transmission to the next generation.

@Algernon I never leave it to become a dirty room - it gets done, though grudgingly at times. I'm 75 and in good health - my small garden is bursting with picking greens and flowers. my five adult kids are vigorous and intelligent, politically and socially aware and educated. I spend a great deal of time thinking of this and that - so practical stuff sometimes is put on the backburner.

@VLove of course you know that I wasn't referring to your personal room.

@Algernon OK, I do get a bit defensive - housework is such a bore. Thanks for your explanation, I think I get a bit defensive about it.

@VLove, yes I agree. Having 5 kids is a much more useful thing to do and I'm not being sarcastic. Also finding some universal truths along the way... that's amazing too. And you DNA if it could speak, will be very pleased for your efforts, haha.

@Algernon Sometimes I wish I could be like the lady next door - she does exactly the same things every day at exactly the same time. If I didn't think so much I could be as contented as she seems to be. Sometimes I wish I was ordinary, would be more peaceful

I offer a cautious explanation: if the men in your family were coal miners for generations, you would probably be a miner too. Note, I said PROBABLY. Furthermore: if a person has cancer and is treated with chemotherapy - not all the cancer cells die, some damaged cells remain and can be passed to the next generation. In many families, breast cancer carries from one generation to the next, it may skip one generation but for sure it will re-appear along the line. That's what I believe and with good reason.

Wow. To answer your questions it would take ages! Just read something about Genetics and you'll find your answers.

Maybe you are referring to Epigenetic mechanism here. Even more difficult to answer because there is disagreement about how big an influence Epigenetic processes really are.

Or maybe you're referring to mutations.

@indirect76 yes, I'm sorry, I did wander off topic. The environment must affect DNA - then behaviour. I'm not a scientific person, but very curious and interested in DNA issue.

@indirect76, @Algernon you say 'mutations' I say effect or change which could be the same thing.

@VLove I’m no genetic expert. This idea of environment affecting DNA in any way other than mutation or cancer goes against what I was taught ages ago in high school. If this information is wrong, I’d genuinely like to know about it.

@VLove They are the same thing in a very broad context, but that’s not the same context that I interpreted the original post. They even clarify with “helps to make us who we are”. I don’t think they were talking about cancer or mutations.

In any case, I don’t agree that environment affects DNA, and that change affects an individual in the way the original post describes.

@indirect76 DNA proscribes our individuality - environment then adds to that, resulting in our life experience. Consider the Irish peoples - centuries of repeated famines have produced a race small of stature. Poor diet, awful weather played their part. Also produced a people with a rare beauty of poetry and music which they express so eloquently.

@VLove Yes, of course, over generations. That is undeniable. I take exception to the idea that it can occur inside a single lifetime, again, as I interpreted the original post.

@Algernon heavens above! Epigenetic? "Epi"? I suppose that means episodic? if so, is similar to genetic memory? I've seen photos of my ancestors - my GGGM had hands exactly the same as mine or vice versa - my gran knitted squares, sewed them together to make cozy blankets. I do the same with knowledge of her pastime. I reckon many people could offer similar instances. Family genetics is of great interest to me. Now, there's one fellow I'd like to have connected with; he left England in 1634 to settle in New England. DNA tests indicate I (as an Aussie) have hundreds of American cousins in many states.