Epigenetic 'scars' of trauma pass through generations

[Chip (OP)]

https://www.livescience.com/health/genetics/epigenetic-scars-of-trauma-pass-through-generations-study-of-syrian-refugees-finds?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=All%20Push%20Subscribers

Chip: this explains why migrant refugees just can't "let it go" in the new country

Epigenetic 'scars' of trauma pass through generations, study of Syrian refugees finds

In a story of collaboration and community, researchers identified intergenerational epigenetic changes caused by war and trauma in Syrian refugees.

There are markers that sit on top of DNA and change over the course of one's lifetime, and they can even be passed down to future generations. These "epigenetic" markers alter how genes are expressed — without changing their codes — and they can change based on a person's experiences and environment.

Research suggests that stressful events can tweak a person's epigenetics — but what happens on a larger scale? How do people's epigenetics change, for example, in a population exposed to upheaval or violence multiple times over generations?

A new study, published Feb. 27 in the journal Scientific Reports, sought to answer that question.

An international collaboration of researchers convened by Rana Dajani, a molecular biologist at Hashemite University in Jordan, published first-of-their-kind results: they found that epigenetic signatures of trauma can be passed down through generations of people. The study was conducted with three generations of Syrian families that experienced the Hama massacre in 1982 and the Syrian uprising that began in 2011.


In the early 1980s, the Syrian regime carried out a massacre in the city of Hama that killed tens of thousands of people. A survivor (left) and her daughter and granddaughter contributed to a study examining whether such trauma can be biologically inherited. (Image credit: Photo by Ameen Alwani)