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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol use cause epigenetic changes to DNA that reflect accelerated biological aging in distinct, measurable ways, according to research presented at the American Society of Human Genetics [sciencedaily.com] (ASHG) 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

Using data from the publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus, Robert A. Philibert, MD, PhD and colleagues at the University of Iowa and other institutions analyzed patterns of DNA methylation, a molecular modification to DNA that affects when and how strongly a gene is expressed. Prior research had shown that methylation patterns change in predictable ways as people age, as well as in response to environmental exposures, such as cigarette smoke and alcohol. In these earlier studies, Dr. Philibert's laboratory identified two specific locations in the genome, base pairs cg05575921 on the AHRR gene and cg23193759 on chromosome 10, at which methylation levels were highly associated with smoking and alcohol consumption, respectively.

Perhaps we can come up with a tailored drug that imprints methylation patterns for behaviors we'd like to acquire.

Original Submission