Scientists at Duke University have created the first map of imprinted genes throughout the human genome, and they say a modern-day Rosetta stone – a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning – was the key to their success…

In classic genetics, children inherit two copies of a gene, one from each parent, and both actively shape how the child develops. But in imprinting, one of those copies is turned off by molecular instructions coming from either the mother or the father. This process of “imprinting” information on a gene is believed to happen during the formation of an egg or sperm, and it means that a child will inherit only one working copy of that gene. That’s why imprinted genes are so vulnerable to environmental pressures: If the only functioning copy is damaged or lost, there’s no backup to jump in and help out…

Dr. Randy Jirtle, who has studied imprinting for years, notes that imprinting is an epigenetic event, meaning it’s something that can change a gene’s function without altering the sequence of its DNA. “Imprinted genes are unusually vulnerable to pressures in our environment – even what we eat, drink, and breathe. On top of that, epigenetic changes can be inherited. I don’t think people realize that.”…

Fascinating article – and field of study. And, as Jirtle and his co-author, Dr. Alexander Hartemink, said, “We’ve certainly narrowed the field, but we have a whole lot of work ahead of us.”