SCIENCE BRIEFING
A significant shift in scientific thinking is taking place- it is the end of the love affair with the gene. For years genetic research has been promising the solution to all health problems and many valuable findings have emerged but it is now clear that the importance of the gene has been over emphasised. Here is the new thinking by Raymond and Denis Noble , two world class physiologists(and Denis is still Latin American dancing at 88!)
The gene delusion
The gene centred dogma derives from at least five erroneous assumptions
Raymond Noble and Dennis Noble 2023 Understanding Living Systems p29
This is a great book and there also are 2 very important articles published in Nature Medicine
1. Argentieri M A et al (2025) Nature Medicine https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03483-9
The exposome shapes distinct patterns of disease and mortality risk, irrespective of polygenic disease risk.
Our findings provide a comprehensive map of the contributions of environment and genetics to mortality and incidence of common age-related diseases, suggesting that the exposome shapes distinct patterns of disease and mortality risk, irrespective of polygenic disease risk.
2. Tina Woods et al (2025) Nature Medicine
Cities, communities & clinics can be testbeds for human exposome &aging research https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03519-
this has a good definition of the exposure which is how external exposures (spanning social, psychological, behavioral and geo-physical factors) and their interaction with internal factors (such as genetics, epigenetics and physiology), encapsulated by the term ‘exposome’, affect health trajectories and overall resilience, including chronic disease, geriatric syndromes and disability as people age.
This reinforces the science base of Living Longer Better which has been, from day one, emphasising the interaction of four factors - ageing, fitness ,disease and social pressure
So the social and physical environment , and its effect on physical, cognitive and emotional activity, is of vital importance and more important than genes
ACTION
Muir
A significant shift in scientific thinking is taking place- it is the end of the love affair with the gene. For years genetic research has been promising the solution to all health problems and many valuable findings have emerged but it is now clear that the importance of the gene has been over emphasised. Here is the new thinking by Raymond and Denis Noble , two world class physiologists(and Denis is still Latin American dancing at 88!)
The gene delusion
The gene centred dogma derives from at least five erroneous assumptions
- The concept of the gene as a precise self-replicator
- The view of the organism as simply a vehicle to transfer genes with ni agency
- That natural selection is a passive process in which organisms have no active part
- That changes in organisms cannot be transferred across generations
- That DNA is a code or or blueprint instructing the organism in is function and behaviour.
Raymond Noble and Dennis Noble 2023 Understanding Living Systems p29
This is a great book and there also are 2 very important articles published in Nature Medicine
1. Argentieri M A et al (2025) Nature Medicine https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03483-9
The exposome shapes distinct patterns of disease and mortality risk, irrespective of polygenic disease risk.
Our findings provide a comprehensive map of the contributions of environment and genetics to mortality and incidence of common age-related diseases, suggesting that the exposome shapes distinct patterns of disease and mortality risk, irrespective of polygenic disease risk.
2. Tina Woods et al (2025) Nature Medicine
Cities, communities & clinics can be testbeds for human exposome &aging research https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03519-
this has a good definition of the exposure which is how external exposures (spanning social, psychological, behavioral and geo-physical factors) and their interaction with internal factors (such as genetics, epigenetics and physiology), encapsulated by the term ‘exposome’, affect health trajectories and overall resilience, including chronic disease, geriatric syndromes and disability as people age.
This reinforces the science base of Living Longer Better which has been, from day one, emphasising the interaction of four factors - ageing, fitness ,disease and social pressure
So the social and physical environment , and its effect on physical, cognitive and emotional activity, is of vital importance and more important than genes
ACTION
- The big news is the launch of Let’s Dance by the fabulous Angela Rippon who has already having a huge impact
- We will be starting another movement on the 1st of May called Let’s Walk More www.letswalkmore.weebly.com
- The NHS has adopted www.livelongerbetter.uk and we want to hear from as local projects in which Active Partnerships and NHS colleagues are working together because Active Partnerships started Live Longer Better in 2020
Muir