An article in Medical News Today from March 7, 2012 referred to a report in a recent issue of Cell Metabolism stating that DNA can be changed by exercise. The study also found that caffeine can change muscle in the same way. The genetic code of the muscle is not changed with exercise, the DNA molecules of the muscle are structurally and chemically changed in significant ways. The exercise will modify DNA as early stages of genetic reprogramming of the muscle's strength.
These changes to the DNA are called epigenetic modifications and have to do with the loss or gain of chemical marks on DNA. These chemical marks are above the normal sequence of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs. The new findings explain that DNA in skeletal muscle from people that have exercised have fewer chemical marks than they did before the exercise. Stretches of DNA that turn "on" genes important for muscles effected by exercise are the ones that experience the change. Muscles made to contract in lab dishes lost DNA methyl groups and caffeine had the same effect as well.
Basically, the study shows more evidence that human genomes are stronger than were originally thought. Epigenetic changes that cause genes to go on and back off are very flexible occurrences. They are what enable DNA in human cells to change as their environment changes. Researchers believe exercise can be medicinal. A means to change genomes for better health can be done simply by exercising. Hopefully, for those who cannot exercise, caffeine might have the same benefits for their health.
No comments:
Post a Comment