On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 02:35:30 +0000 (UTC), oxiran{at}yahoo.com (Richard)
wrote:

>Hello,
>This may be a very basic question for you all, but we were talking
>around the dinner table the other night and this question came up.
>
>If a person is an alcoholic for much of his life, can his genetic code
>be changed by drinking alcohol in such a way as to make his offspring
>more genetically inclined to be alcoholic?
>
>Or would his offspring be just as inclined regardless of the parents
>consumption of alcohol? I am talking about just genetic inclinations.
>Thanks,
>Richard

What you are describing is generally known as "inheritance of acquired
characteristics".  This was the basis of Lamarck's notion of evolution
and was long ago proved incorrect.

The DNA is not altered by the activity of the cell, at least not in
the way that you are thinking.  In particular, the DNA in the germ
cell line -- the line of cells destined to produce sperm and eggs --
is even more greatly protected from outside influences.

So the simple answer to your question is: No, the behavior (good or
bad) of the parents is not projected onto the children in their genes.

The complex answer is that there are small and subtle ways that there
may be an influence.  Of course, there is the cultural and behavioral
inheritance -- children learn from what they see their parents do.
There are also subtle non-genetic inheritances -- mothers who drink
may influence the development of the fetuses they carry in several
ways -- the alcohol crosses to the fetus and influences development,
the mother may be malnourished, or there may be subtle biochemicals
produced by the mother that cross the placenta.  Also, subtle
biochemical changes in the mother may influence the non-genetic
biochemical composition of the egg cell which may have an effect on
the way the fertilized egg develops. All these are non-genetic
factors, though.
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