# DNA question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 16, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658 "2022-12-16T18:07:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/1 "2022-12-16T18:07:50Z")

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What are some of the fantastic possible aspects of DNA that serious scientists suspect. Is there any evidence that the host can alter his own DNA by his behavior.

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/2 "2022-12-16T18:42:05Z")

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There is plenty of evidence that the environment changes epigenetics, which decides which genes are turned on and off. There is human population patterns that make sense under that paradigm and there are laboratory mouse experiments that flat out prove it.

You can’t change the DNA code through behavior though, unless you count increasing mutation rates by consuming mutagens or hanging out near Chernobyl.

> **[Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenerational_epigenetic_inheritance)**
>
> Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is the transmission of epigenetic markers from one organism to the next (i.e., from parent to child) that affects the traits of offspring without altering the primary structure of DNA (i.e. the sequence of nucleotides): 168 —in other words, epigenetically. The less precise term "epigenetic inheritance" may cover both cell–cell and organism–organism information transfer. Although these two levels of epigenetic inheritance are equivalent in unicellular Envir...

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/3 "2022-12-16T19:11:56Z")

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> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#):
>
> Is there any evidence that the host can alter his own DNA by his behavior.

Sure. Smoking is one good way of doing it. Also, scrubbing yourself with asbestos, sunbathing, plenty of ways.

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/4 "2022-12-16T19:57:59Z")

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You can make an elephant by using DNA. I think that’s pretty fantastic.

You can also build [computers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_computing) out of DNA.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/5 "2022-12-16T20:18:05Z")

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> [@naita](#):
>
> You can’t change the DNA code through behavior though, unless you count increasing mutation rates by consuming mutagens or hanging out near Chernobyl.

Sure you can, through the behavior of asking/paying people with extensive knowledge of modern molecular biology to change your DNA. Granted, it might take a few years to figure out how to effect the exact changes you want in the exact tissues you want.

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**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\
**Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658/6 "2022-12-17T20:58:14Z")

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Prolonged starvation’s good for epigenesis if you’re willing to wait until the next generation for florid expression.