Inherited Characteristics and Criminal Justice: Part 1

Epigenetics is defined as ”changes in the way that a gene works or functions, without altering the sequence of the genetic code, or DNA.”  I usually find this kind of natural science quite dry, but I was recently fascinated by a PBS series on the topic called Ghost in Your Genes.

The rise of epigentic research began in the 1980′s in a place near and dear to me, Stockholm, when a Swedish scientist decided to research the lasting effects an 1800′s famine had on the ancestors of its survivors.  He also began to research the long-term effects of a pregnant mother’s behavior on her offspring since at the time, there wasn’t such a vast body of medical data supporting a link between the mother’s food intake, alcohol consumption, and drug use and fetal development, as there is now.

Having established a pattern of long term consequences of a pregnant mother’s behavior on her fetus through the human data they collected, scientists  decided to test their theory on mice.  The study results revealed detrimental effects.  Not only does a pregnant mother’s diet directly affect her child, it also has a continued effect on her grandchildren and even great grandchildren.  For example, if a mother smokes during pregnancy, her baby is likely to be born at a much lower birth weight then it would have been if she hadn’t smoked.  The researchers found that the affected child’s offspring will still be born at a lower birth weight even when their mother has had a healthy smoke free pregnancy.  The weight-reducing effects continue for several generations until the “markers” causing low birth weight wear off.

Next, scientists examined the role of environmental stressors in epigenetics.  Their question was whether or not environmental factors and trauma can result in the same multi-generational effect.  Join me next week as I answer this question and explain the link between this new science and criminal justice.