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nyaaaa t1_j0b8frb wrote

Reply to comment by EmilyU1F984 in Will my kids inherit the genetic mutations that I aquire during my lifetime? by RedditScoutBoy

Is it really "inheritable" if you don't have it?

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ScipioLongstocking t1_j0berjk wrote

Yeah. That's why people can be carriers for hereditary diseases, but they don't actually have the disease.

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Quantum_Quandry t1_j0e44aa wrote

That’s generally due to recessive genes and not due to a mutation in the cell generations immediately before your gonads (though that too is possible).

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Dal90 t1_j0bfx9f wrote

Epigenetics.

You may have a trait or mutation that doesn't express itself, but your kids my find themselves in the right behavioral or environmental situation it does.

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avian_aficianado t1_j0m0hfn wrote

Its interesting for example how the emergence of epigenetic modifictions can affet both cognitive and endocrinological function. The amount of dopamine recepetors being deactivated during signal transmssion has been correlated with lower IQ test scores, but research into the exact modualtory mechanisms of epigenetics are still being studied. Lactose intolerance is another ntoaable case of methylation during ontogenic development.

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sebwiers t1_j0bg5ul wrote

It's inheritable in that the person born with it can pass it down. You can't really mutate post birth to have a genetic condition; if you have the condition you were born with it.

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