I love watching science programs on TV and I find the science of epigenetics an interesting topic. A few years back I watched a science program that talked about the epigenetics of trauma victims and how, in rats, it had been shown that future generations of rats carried the same traits as the past generation of rats, who experienced the trauma, despite not directly experiencing trauma themselves. This implied that the genes of the rats, who had experienced trauma, had changed and that these gene changes were passed on to future generations.
This information is so important to teachers of students who may have experienced trauma, or who are the children or grandchildren of people who have experienced trauma. This would cover many of our refugee students, and students who were born in Australia and who are the children or grandchildren of refugees.
I thought I should write about this after I read an article published in the Guardian Newspaper. It is an interesting article discussing the epigenetic changes of the families who suffered during the Holocaust. It has implications for students you may teach, it is an easy read (not too sciencey!) so please take the time to read it and think about if this may affect any students you teach.
Here is the article: