Controlling your genes with your thoughts

[Magical Realist]

"It sounds like something from the scene in Star Wars where Master Yoda instructs the young Luke Skywalker to use the force to release his stricken X-Wing from the swamp: Marc Folcher and other researchers from the group led by Martin Fussenegger, Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basel, have developed a novel gene regulation method that enables thought-specific brainwaves to control the conversion of genes into proteins -- called gene expression in technical terms.

• DNA microarray
• Bioinformatics
• Allele

"For the first time, we have been able to tap into human brainwaves, transfer them wirelessly to a gene network and regulate the expression of a gene depending on the type of thought. Being able to control gene expression via the power of thought is a dream that we've been chasing for over a decade," says Fussenegger.

A source of inspiration for the new thought-controlled gene regulation system was the game Mindflex, where the player wears a special headset with a sensor on the forehead that records brainwaves. The registered electroencephalogram (EEG) is then transferred into the playing environment. The EEG controls a fan that enables a small ball to be thought-guided through an obstacle course."====http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141111111317.htm

Interesting, but why would I wanna control gene expression with my mind? I mean wouldn't I rather all that go on by itself, while I mentally attend to more important things like soap operas and UFC cage wrestling?

 

[Jake Arave]

"It sounds like something from the scene in Star Wars where Master Yoda instructs the young Luke Skywalker to use the force to release his stricken X-Wing from the swamp: Marc Folcher and other researchers from the group led by Martin Fussenegger, Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basel, have developed a novel gene regulation method that enables thought-specific brainwaves to control the conversion of genes into proteins -- called gene expression in technical terms.

• DNA microarray
• Bioinformatics
• Allele

"For the first time, we have been able to tap into human brainwaves, transfer them wirelessly to a gene network and regulate the expression of a gene depending on the type of thought. Being able to control gene expression via the power of thought is a dream that we've been chasing for over a decade," says Fussenegger.

A source of inspiration for the new thought-controlled gene regulation system was the game Mindflex, where the player wears a special headset with a sensor on the forehead that records brainwaves. The registered electroencephalogram (EEG) is then transferred into the playing environment. The EEG controls a fan that enables a small ball to be thought-guided through an obstacle course."====http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141111111317.htm

Interesting, but why would I wanna control gene expression with my mind? I mean wouldn't I rather all that go on by itself, while I mentally attend to more important things like soap operas and UFC cage wrestling?

None of this makes sense to me - a large portion of genetic expression directly affects brain structure. Wouldn't this interfere with core principles in Mendelian Genetics? What about independent assortment and chromosomal crossing? To tie this in with my studies; wouldn't the proteins be defunct through translocation? Trinucleotide extension through translocation is the cause of Huntingtin malformation. (which, as you may know, causes extreme neural impairment (chorea))

The information posted violates so many known principles of genetics, can anyone back me up in this?

 

[GeoffP]

The control is being demonstrated in a third-party device.

It does not imply deliberate 'mental transmission' from the mind to endogenous (by the body) gene expression. It's no different than EEG fan operation or ball movement. How the authors dared to allow this misrepresentation astounds me.

 

[Ophiolite]

It's equivalent to the gate opening device used by the kids in The Goonies. Very elaborate, great fun and wholly impractical.

 

[wellwisher]

The connection between brain (mind) and genes is transmitted via the water. Water is the common link and continuum by which all ionic and molecular aspects of life are interconnected, from protein, to ions, to genes, to diffusing chemicals. Water is common median by which the cell is able to transmit information between seemingly disconnected moieties, so the potential of one impacts the others.

Sodium and Potassium ions, common to brain function and thought, impact water differently. This difference is subtle, but is critical to life. Sodium ions bind to water stronger than water binds to other water molecules in pure water solutions; hydrogen bonding; Sodium ions are called kosmotropic. On the other hand, Potassium ions bind to water weaker than water binds to other water molecules in pure water; hydrogen bonding; potassium ions are called chaotropic.

The impact of each of these two cations is to make the local water bind tighter to itself; sodium ions, or less tight to itself, potassium ions, thereby shifting the average hydrogen bonding within the water between one of two binary states; polar or covalent. The polar state of hydrogen bonding causes water to get denser while causing higher entropy; disorder in water. While the covalent state of hydrogen bonding causes water to expand, while lowering entropy; orders the water.

Since water is in contact with everything within life, each of these global and/or local changes, within the water, impacts how all the other things in the water need to behave within the water. The cells tend to accumulate the chaotropic potassium ions because these create chaos in water. These also make the water denser, allowing protein, RNA and DNA to expand open up; contracted water makes more room in the water for things to stretch out. This higher chaos state of the water also adds entropy to organic materials, allowing changes of shape; change of form leads to change of function.

The sodium does the opposite and expands the water and put the squeeze on DNA and protein, lowering their entropy. Transmission of information into water via chaotic and kosmotropic agents impacts the local enthalpy and entropy, as well as the volume/pressure exerted by the water. It allows expansion and contractions as well as energy and the ability to change or not change.

Information can also be transmitted directly via the 3-D cross links hydrogen bonding matrix of the water. This information can move 100 times faster than any chemical diffusion, since all it requires is small changes in hydrogen bonding energy. This fast information reaches the goal first, making the needed things aware of upcoming change, that will be transmitted by the lumbering molecular movement; slow motion.

As an analogy I call for pizza. This information reaches the pizza place way before the pie is cooked and before I even get dressed to go for the pickup. This fast data gets the workers in action, as I also dress and get my coat, so by the time I arrive in my car, the pie is ready to pick up. Without water, you would loose communication speed. The DNA is already loosening up even before resources are diverted to make the new pizza pie.

The loosening of the DNA is connected to the junk genes and contextual modifications. This is because the DNA shape is based on water potential that permeates the DNA.

 

[sculptor]

Interesting.
The concept seemed intuitively plausible.

 

[wellwisher]

The DNA is the most hydrated large molecule in the cell. It is water's best buddy. The DNA is not just a double helix of organics. The DNA also contains a double helix of water that is intertwined with the DNA double helix with in the major and minor grooves. This double helix of water binds to the water that lies further out around the phosphate groups. The composite water interfaces the DNA to the nucleus water. If you tweak the nucleus water, the DNA feels the tweak right down to the base pairs.

If you look at adenine, cytosine and guanine (top figure) all three contain nitrogen atoms with hydrogen that contain two hydrogen bonding hydrogen atoms, while only needing one to form a base pair. I often wondered why did nature design in two hydrogen (top of adenine above), if you only need one hydrogen for the base pair. It turned out that water binds to these extra hydrogen bonding hydrogen as part of the double water helix; bottom figure.

Each base pair have a signature water wind to the water helix, due to the unique binding sites and angles available for water, for each base and for each base pair. If we tweak the hydrogen bonding of this water between its two binary states, we can impact the binding energy of the water that holds the DNA double helix at specific points. We can fluff it out to pull it in. Thought via ions, then water, then DNA, calling for pizza, waiting for the enzymes to arrive.

 

[GeoffP]

The connection between brain (mind) and genes is transmitted via the water.

No. The brain is not the mind. The brain is involved with feedback mechanisms, but the conscious control you're claiming is not demonstrated here.