Controversies

       Most controversial in epigenetics is the idea of inheritance. Genes are passed down by our parents through meiosis, the cellular development of sex cells, which combine to form an embryo. However, epigenetic studies show that the epigenome is also part of inheritance.  During meiosis, experiences are passed to  daughter cells, by the mother. This means that a parents experience in the form of epigenetic tags can also be passed down to future generations. As unconventional and controversial as this may be, this innovative finding may shine the light on many  rare inheritance patterns. An example being, Developmental disorders such as schizophrenia.
       Dr. Lars Olov Bygren data, validated Epigenetic inheritance.  Bygren studied 99 individuals in a small town called Overkalix in Sweden. In his practice he noticed that boys who enjoyed an excess amount of food  produced sons and grandsons who lived shorter lives, dying  an average of six years earlier than the grandsons of those who had endured a poor harvest. Results applied  applied along the female line as well, meaning that the daughters and granddaughters of girls who had gone from normal to gluttonous diets also lived shorter lives. Essentially, the data suggested that a single winter of overeating as a adolescent could initiate a biological chain of events that would lead one's grandchildren to die decades earlier than their peers did.

Three generations: Dr. Lars Olov Bygren, with son Magnus and grandson Ludvig in Stockholm

For more information on Dr. Lars Olov Bygren and his discoveries please visit: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1951968,00.html#ixzz1AJNu0Xww