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Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology

An expert in epigenetics explains the deep chemistry of life.
Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology is rated 4.1 out of 5 by 11.
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Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fascinating and engaging! This is such a great course! One of my favorites on Wondrium. The material is fascinating and I love the supporting videos. So educational. Some reviewers were annoyed at how enthusiastic the presenter is, but I disagree. She is passionate about her field and I found her lectures very easy to listen to.
Date published: 2023-03-17
Rated 5 out of 5 by from An amazing series This is an amazing series. The series opened up an entire new and exciting understanding of life. I do disagree with the conclusions reached about cannabis and the overview of arteriosclerosis was a bit superficial, the course on the whole is fantastic.
Date published: 2023-03-16
Rated 3 out of 5 by from There are some good lectures but many are so so It would not hurt you to get the instant video and watch it that way, see what lectures work for you. Some topics are kind of broad descriptions of "genes are involved" and "this is a new area" and some speculation about that area of study. Occasionally there is enough detail, such as in "zooming in on a single gene" in Lecture 2. But even there it helps if you had biochemistry. I had it decades ago. I did in fact know that genes are turned off by methylation, which comes up in almost every lecture. Lecture 10 was rather new material for me. I would recommend the class to some friends, not all. As something simulating a class room lecture it fails part of the time. Not because of style of speaking, more due to lack of detail. You can't squeeze a biochemistry paper into one paragraph and one picture. But, this is a new and interesting topic, since it relates to human health and does keep the viewer's attention. I don't expect another course to be offered soon, so it is a novel offering here.
Date published: 2023-03-16
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Beyond Awesome! You have to see and hear this, listen to this gifted researcher and teacher, to even begin to get the gift of a beginning understanding of epigenitics. And it is the beginning of everything finally changing in health care...really, watch this...
Date published: 2023-03-08
Rated 5 out of 5 by from I love this course! I found the material very interesting, I tried to follow as much as I could with this course, I even found it interesting enough to replay sections several times. Some stuff is highly sophisticated material and I found that writing notes was helpful. I got motivated to learn more as a result of her course. I also love her voice, its easy to understand, she pauses in all the right places, makes the right emphasis. My issue is probably more with the workbook which I think should have had a page for the new terms introduced.
Date published: 2023-03-06
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fascinating topic The course extended my understanding of how DNA is actually expressed in practice and how life experience affects that expression. Enjoyed the enthusiasm of the instructor.
Date published: 2023-03-05
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Love the enthusiasm Enjoying this course and the interesting information. The instructor is great and very knowledgeable and coveys this very enthusiastic.
Date published: 2023-03-04
Rated 1 out of 5 by from The Speaker Is Trying Too Hard I don't like how wide-eyed and emphatic the speaker is. I feel like I'm trying to be persuaded of something rather than just told how things work. When I watch the news on TV, the reporters have charisma, but they don't try nearly as hard as this speaker did to seem emotional. Normal is okay for me. This did not feel normal. It's distracting just listening to the way she speaks. I'm trying, but I don't think I can watch this.
Date published: 2023-03-01
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Overview

Taught by physician-scientist Dr. Charlotte Mykura, this course introduces the science of epigenetics, which goes together with genetics to explain physiology, heritability, disease, and every other aspect of living cells. You learn how the double helix of DNA is transformed by a host of molecules that constitute the epigenome and which implement the genetic code by switching genes on and off.

About

Charlotte Mykura
Charlotte Mykura

Within each one of our cells, we hold a beautiful epigenetic jungle surrounding our DNA that manipulates our genetic code.

INSTITUTION

North Bristol NHS Trust

Dr. Charlotte Mykura is a foundation doctor with the North Bristol NHS Trust. She earned her MD at Swansea University and her PhD in Epigenetics at Imperial College London, where she focused on protein complexes that fold, organize, and repair DNA. She is also a science communicator who has explored genetics, epigenetics, and evolution with audiences at such venues as the ZSL London Zoo and London’s Science Museum. Additionally, she has participated in several festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Cheltenham Science Festival.

By This Expert

Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology
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Epigenetics: How Environment Changes Your Biology

Trailer

Living DNA and the Epigenetic Universe

01: Living DNA and the Epigenetic Universe

DNA may get all the credit, but the behind-the-scenes manipulator of genetic information, making DNA perform the myriad functions of life, is epigenetics. Dr. Mykura introduces this exciting field, which is rewriting our understanding of gene expression, and how our behavior and the environment can influence traits that were previously thought to be hardwired into our genetic code.

34 min
How Your Epigenetic Code Changes

02: How Your Epigenetic Code Changes

Delve into the molecular machinery of the epigenetic code, that living jungle which controls our DNA. See how the central dogma of cell biology, that DNA makes RNA makes proteins, is only possible due to epigenetic processes. Also, see how epigenetic factors create a system of inheritance that is entirely separate from—but intimately involved with—our genomes.

32 min
What You Eat and the Epigenetics of Your Gut

03: What You Eat and the Epigenetics of Your Gut

Explore the epigenetics of food and how our diet can affect our DNA. A famous example is the Dutch famine at the end of World War II, which left a legacy of health problems not just among the survivors, but also in their yet-to-be-conceived descendants—an outcome that defied traditional genetics. Discover how epigenetics explains this phenomenon, as well as trends such as today’s obesity epidemic.

28 min
Can We Slow the Epigenetics of Aging?

04: Can We Slow the Epigenetics of Aging?

Epigenetics plays a key role in aging, giving humans long lives compared to other mammals, but also setting a limit on longevity. This raises the question: Can we use our knowledge of epigenetics to stop aging, or at least slow it down? Focus on an enzyme called telomerase, which in theory can restore cells to youth, but at a terrible cost. In this light, consider the advantages of aging.

29 min
Brain Epigenetics, Stress, and Memory

05: Brain Epigenetics, Stress, and Memory

The brain is the most complex structure that we know, able to produce an infinite variety of behaviors and store prodigious amounts of information. Learn how epigenetics governs the genes that are expressed within the brain. Then, look at brain pathologies such as schizophrenia that are partly due to epigenetic effects. Also, evaluate the impact of drug use on brain development.

31 min
The Heart and Lungs, Epigenetics, and Exercise

06: The Heart and Lungs, Epigenetics, and Exercise

See how epigenetic changes due to diet and cigarettes can affect the heart and lungs. For example, lung cancer was once considered a disease of genetic processes, but it is now known to involve many epigenetic mutations that disrupt the on/off state of specific genes. Then study a more positive phenomenon: how the epigenetic alterations from regular exercise can have long-term health benefits.

31 min
Cancer Epigenetics versus Your DNA Repair

07: Cancer Epigenetics versus Your DNA Repair

Follow the ongoing epigenetic battle taking place in all of us. It pits naturally occurring or environmentally induced cellular damage, which could lead to cancer, against the powerful mechanisms of DNA repair. Compare the chromosomes in a healthy cell versus a cancerous cell. Also, look at different cancer triggers, including ultraviolet light and the body’s hormonal and microbial environments.

29 min
Disease-Fighting Epigenetics and Immunity

08: Disease-Fighting Epigenetics and Immunity

The body’s immune system incorporates a huge amount of epigenetic complexity. Learn how this works in the two types of immunity: innate and adaptive. Innate immunity is inherited and evolutionarily very ancient, while adaptive immunity can respond to pathogens that may have evolved mere hours ago. Probe the danger of immune cells attacking the body’s own cells in autoimmune diseases.

30 min
Female and Male? The Epigenetics of X and Y

09: Female and Male? The Epigenetics of X and Y

Why are there two sexes, and what does epigenetics have to do with it? Zero in on the X and Y chromosomes, following events that cause a fertilized egg with two Xs to develop ovaries, while an embryo with an X and a Y develops testes. Investigate why the Y chromosome has a minimal number of genes and whether it will eventually disappear from the sexual reproduction of our species.

32 min
Human Life Begins with Epigenetics

10: Human Life Begins with Epigenetics

Rewind the process of embryogenesis to individual egg and sperm cells. Although their epigenetic features are largely wiped clean, they still must orchestrate the complex development of an embryo to produce a baby. Study the steps needed to get to a fertilized egg and the even more involved epigenetic processes as the embryo differentiates. Also, pinpoint steps where embryogenesis can go wrong.

31 min
Inheriting Epigenetics in Plants—and People?

11: Inheriting Epigenetics in Plants—and People?

Does epigenetics mean that 19th-century French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was right about the inheritance of acquired characteristics? Learn that this phenomenon, called transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, is difficult to prove, especially in humans. In the search for evidence, evaluate a prominent study of isolated human populations. Then, see that plants shed intriguing light on this question.

32 min
The Evolution of Epigenetics and Our Future

12: The Evolution of Epigenetics and Our Future

Turn back the clock to the era before DNA, when RNA may have dominated life processes, playing both genetic and epigenetic roles. Focus on the epigenetics taking place in bacteria, as well as in older, single-celled organisms called archaea. Go deeper into the diverse epigenetic activity in plants. Finish the course by looking ahead at the many promising lines of research in epigenetics.

33 min

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