Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy School funding leaves gifted students behind

Why are the bright kids told to wait for the others to catch up? Why can't we feed that passion?

"Our district is not just for students who aren't proficient," said Associate Superintendent Toni-Sue Passantino.

PROTECTING OUR EPIGENOME
Q: People tend to think that the genes they're born with are set in stone�they're not going to change. But your epigenome does change. Do we have some responsibility to maintain it?

Issa: The realization that the epigenome is so important to health and disease is really fundamental, because we now understand that the epigenome is something we can do something about, as opposed to the genome, which is what we are born with that we can really not modify. The epigenome is a little more dynamic. Potentially what we eat in infancy and what we eat in development could affect the health of our epigenome. But it is more than that. Smoking and exposures and lifestyle habits can affect our epigenome. And perhaps more interestingly, not to be negative all the time, there might be interventions that would make our epigenome more healthy.

A mouse gives birth to identical-twin sisters. One has brown fur and will grow up to be lean and healthy; the other has yellow fur and is destined to be obese and prone to disease. How can two mice sharing exactly the same DNA become so different? The answer lies in the epigenome, a kind of second genome that all animals have, including humans. The epigenome dictates which genes in the genome are turned on and which are not, a process that can differ even between identical twins.