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Lecture 3. Varieties and relationship of types of risk

Classification of risks based on a number of their signs by the nature of the damage

Currently, in the assessment and analysis of risk is used a number of characteristics . First of all, it is the probability of events with negative consequences. It can be estimated both on the basis of real statistical data and using probabilistic methods. The probability measurement range is from zero ( impossible event ) to one ( reliable event ). As stated earlier, the second major cause of risk are the size of the consequences and damage, which can vary from zero to infinity. Depending on the type of risk and the quality of the available information, it is necessary to take into account the accuracy of the assessment of the probability and damage ( from confidence interval to uncertainty).

A number of additional properties and parameters of risk are associated with the spatio-temporal characteristics of the manifestation of its consequences. The spatial component is determined by the scale (geography) of the consequences of the risk. Consequences, regardless of the frequency of implementation, can manifest themselves locally, regionally or globally. The time component is determined by the form of manifestation of consequences (from instantaneous to prolonged), as well as by the presence of distant effects.

A fundamentally new property of risk should be considered presence of consequences that violate individual, social and cultural interests, generate social conflicts and negative psychological reactions of people. The qualitative nature of this property is determined by the fact that there is no monetary assessment of the consequences for it.

Research in recent years has shown that risks are inherently highly heterogeneous.

Depending on the type of risk source , the spatio-temporal properties of the manifestation of negative consequences, risks can be classified in accordance with a number of signs indicated above.

For example, R.Collru 3 proposes to distinguish between five types of risk:

1. (safety risks);

2. health risks (health risks);

3. (environmental risks);

4. risks to public welfare (publicwelfare / goodwill risks);

5. financial risks (financial risks).

Security risks, usually characterized by low probabilities, but severe consequences; they appear quickly, in particular, they can be attributed industrial accidents.

Health risks on the contrary, they have a rather high probability and often do not have serious consequences, many of them manifest themselves with a certain delay.

6.
Distribution of risks by the listed types and factors based on the specified characteristics, as the decoding of the first three shows

· security risks (safetyrisks);

· health risks (healthrisks);

· risks threatening the state of the environment (environmentalrisks);

It is conditional. Very often the risks associated with threat to the environment habitats are also health risks.

A fairly original classification was given by O. Rennes 4. It is based on groups of combinations of the characteristics described above. For clarity of identification of the corresponding types of risks, the author used Greek mythology.

Types of risk

Gradations of the main types of risks. Risk is the product of the probability of an undesirable event and the severity of its consequences. Based on how accurately various risks can be predicted and how they are perceived by the public, the following risk classification is proposed:

Damocles. The severity of negative consequences is great, but the likelihood of an undesirable event that will lead to them is very low. (Examples are a major chemical accident, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant).

Cyclops. The severity of the negative consequences is high, but the probability of an unwanted event is uncertain. (An example is the emergence and uncontrolled spread of a new, alien for the given area, biological species).

Pythia. The likelihood of an unwanted event and the severity of its consequences are uncertain.

Pandora. The severity of the consequences is uncertain, as is the likelihood of the undesirable event itself, but if it occurs, its harmful consequences will be widespread and / or will exist for a long time, and / or will be irreversible.

Cassandra. High probability of an undesirable event and high severity of its consequences, especially remote ones. (Cassandra is known to be distrustful. An example is the public's underestimation of the danger of global warming.)

Jellyfish. The probability of an undesirable event and the severity of its consequences are not high, but the public mobilization potential of this type of risk is high. (An example is the fear of harmful effects on the body of weak electromagnetic fields.)

Type 1. Sword of Damocles. This type corresponds to a relatively low probability of events and, at the same time, a catastrophically high potential damage (nuclear energy, chemical plants, dams). The peculiarity of this type of risk is that its sources are mainly
are complex industrial objects for which either statistics exist (at least in the form of a small sample), or theoretical probabilistic estimates have been made. As a result, for a given type of risk, the assessment of its probability and consequences can be carried out within relatively small confidence intervals.

Type 2. Cyclops. Cyclops - mythical creatures in ancient Greek mythology * The very name of this type of risk suggests that only one of the main characteristics - damage, can be assessed with a high degree of reliability. The probability is either not determined, or its estimate has a large confidence interval. These risks include catastrophic natural events, AIDS, biological pollution, etc.

Type 3. Pythia. The priestess-diviner in the temple of the ancient Greek god Apollo in Delphi, sitting over a crevice of the rock, This type of risk is characterized by the fact that both the probability and the consequences are uncertain, although the potential damage can be great. An example of such risks is the greenhouse effect or the effect of certain substances on the human endocrine system.

Type 4. Pandora's box... In Greek mythology, a woman created by Hephaestus at the behest of Zeus, as punishment to people for Prometheus' stolen fire from the gods; she captivated the beauty of Prometheus's brother Epimetheus and became his wife. Seeing a vessel or box filled with disasters in her husband's house, the curious Pandora, despite the prohibition, opened it, and all the disasters from which humanity suffers spread throughout the earth. In a figurative sense, Pandora's box is the source of all sorts of disasters. The specificity of this type of risk is determined by the global and versatile manifestation of consequences, which can be both instantaneous and intergenerational. This type can, for example, include the destruction of the ozone layer. The accuracy of the probability and damage estimates is extremely low.

Type 5. Cassandra.cassandra - One of the daughters of the Trojan king Priam and, according to Homer, the most beautiful. Legend says that Apollo rewarded her with a prophetic gift, but because she refused him love, the radiant god made it so that no one believed Cassandra's predictions. Virgil follows this legend in the Aeneid, telling how Cassandra tried in vain to warn the Trojans about the danger that lurks in the wooden horse left at the city walls by the Achaeans. After the fall of Troy, Kassandra took Agamemnon to his home, together with him she died in Mycenae at the hands of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Along with a high probability of risk realization and high damage, this type is associated with the obligatory presence of long-term effects (for example, anthropogenic climate change).

Type 6. Medusa. This type of risk has a number of features. The combination of low probability, relatively small damage and a wide scale of manifestation, especially in the field of socio-psychological interests, require special attention. Exposure to electromagnetic fields can be an example of this type of risk.

The given typing is rather arbitrary, but it can be useful for initial identification, as well as when choosing risk management mechanisms.

Of interest is the classification of types of risk carried out by V.L. Sidorchuk.

When dealing with private types of risk, it is advisable not to lose sight of all of them. In modern publications, attention is drawn to the risks: military, demographic, political, natural, food, social, man-made, ecological, economic, ethnocultural (ethnic), etc. The number of terms grows as observers who monitor certain processes in nature, society and production find signs of growing instability in them. The growing focus on risk is encouraging. But objectively it is necessary to be clear in terms. Apparently, all types of risk can be typified, firstly, according to the position of their sources - in society, nature or the technosphere; secondly, according to the belonging of objects - addressees of risk - to society (O), natural environment (P) and technosphere (T). Eight combinations are obtained: O – O; O – P; FROM; T – T; T – O; T – P; BY; P – T. There is no P – P combination, since nature does not harm itself. If we are talking about the loss of natural resources, then they belong to the economy (technosphere) 5.

The terms used have the following meanings. Environmental risk is indicated by the addressee (O – P, T – P); economic (O – T, T – T, P – T); natural and man-made - by source or addressee. This variety is inconvenient. However, the terms are firmly entrenched and should not be changed. Natural and technogenic risk is understood by different authors as technogenic (anthropogenically) enhanced natural or as technogenic, provoked

___________________

5 For a more in-depth study of this issue, a textbook is recommended: S.M. Myagkov. Geography of natural risk. - M .: Publishing house of Moscow State University, 1995.

natural events (say, an accident at a nuclear power plant due to a landslide). Socially, according to the source, the risk that has a social addressee is additionally divided into external and internal in relation to a group of people considered as an object of protection.

Classification of hazards and risks

by the sources of their occurrence and the affected objects *

* Allocated over a group of primary environmental risks.

Fighting Oxidants May Slow Brain Aging

Research by scientists from Harvard University (USA).
The article was published in the journal Science.

The researchers argue that the main mechanism of brain aging and the fading of memory and mental alertness in old age is the accumulation of random mutations in the genomes of nerve cells.

For many years, experts have argued about whether mutations accumulate in the DNA of neurons - cells that usually do not divide or renew, and whether these typos in the genome affect the decline in brain performance as a person ages.

In recent years, a debate has revived among scientists about what constitutes aging and death. Some biologists and evolutionists believe that it is not random and that it is controlled by a kind of "death program" - a set of genes that make organisms age and die, giving way to a new generation. In an effort to understand whether this is actually the case, American geneticists have recently discovered a whole set of genes potentially associated with the work of this "aging program". Disruptions in their functioning may explain why some people and African rodents, naked mole rats live several decades longer than the rest of the inhabitants of the Earth. More recently, scientists have discovered a special zone in the brain of mice that controls aging, but the very principles of its operation have remained a mystery. Other biologists questioned this finding, claiming that random mutations control aging of brain cells, rather than a common program. Harvard University researchers found the first physical evidence that the brain is aging due to the accumulation of mutations in cells by decoding the DNA of one and a half Hundreds of single neurons extracted from the hippocampus (memory center) and the prefrontal cortex of the brain of long-dead people. It turned out that the number of mutations in the brains of healthy people actually grows smoothly with age, and the rate of their accumulation was markedly different for the hippocampus and cortex. In general, new mutations appeared in the cells of the hippocampus much faster than in the neurons of the cortex, which may explain why people in old age are worse at remembering new information.

Interestingly, age-related mutations appeared in neurons due to two interrelated disorders: errors in repairing breaks in DNA and damage to its strand when oxidant molecules appeared in the cell nucleus.

All this, according to scientists, suggests that the brain does not age according to some unified program embedded in all cells, but as a result of the accumulation of random mutations in genomes. Accordingly, they conclude, combating oxidants and DNA breaks can slow down memory fading and overall brain aging.

Drug abuse causes permanent changes in various parts of the brain. Understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms of adaptation will help develop new therapies.

White powder lines. Syringe and spoon. Pills. For many addicts, the mere sight of the drug or even the items associated with it shivers with anticipation. After taking it, incomparable bliss comes: warmth spreads through the body, all problems disappear, and it seems that the whole Universe lies at your feet. However, after repeated use of the drug, something incomprehensible begins to happen.

A person, in order to feel inspired again, needs to sniff, swallow or inject the drug. If this is not done, depression begins, and often physical illness, including withdrawal. But the initial dose is no longer enough, and addiction gradually develops, the person loses control over himself and experiences an irresistible craving for the drug. The addiction soon begins to take its toll on health, finances, and personal life.

Neuroscientists have long known that the euphoria caused by drugs is associated with their stimulating effect on the brain's reward system. The system is a complex network of nerve cells (neurons) that induces a feeling of pleasure after eating or having sex, i.e. forms of activity necessary for survival and procreation. Stimulating the reward system is enjoyable and encourages you to resort to the forms of activity that provided it again and again.

However, recent studies have shown that chronic drug use induces structural and functional changes in reward neurons that persist for weeks, months, or even years after drug cessation. Thus, on the one hand, adaptations weaken the positive ones that arise when taking the drug, on the other hand, they increase the person's painful craving for the drug. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of drug action could lead to the development of new therapies for drug addiction.

Deadly addiction

People's addiction to various drugs is mediated by the same mechanisms - this is the conclusion the researchers came to as a result of long-term experimental work that began 40 years ago. Mice, rats and lower primates were injected intravenously with the most common drugs. When habituation came, the animals were taught a simple procedure: in order to receive an injection of the drug, the rodents had to press one lever, in order to receive an "uninteresting" injection of saline - on the other, and food - on the third. After a few days, the animals happily injected themselves with cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and other substances.

It was found that some individuals abused drugs to the detriment of vital forms of activity - for example, food, etc. Some even died of starvation. To get another dose of cocaine, rodents were ready to push the lever hundreds of times. In addition, they gave a clear preference to the environment associated with the drug: for example, they stayed mostly in the part of the cell where they could receive the desired dose.

If the drug was stopped, the animal soon gave up its fruitless attempts to obtain "chemical pleasure." But as soon as a rat, which had not received cocaine for several months, smell it or even find itself in a cage associated with a drug, she immediately began to press the coveted lever.

Using the described technique of intravenous self-administration of drugs and some other experimental techniques, the researchers were able to identify the areas of the brain responsible for the development of addiction. It has been shown that drugs have a stronger and deeper stimulating effect on the brain's reward system than any natural reward factors.

A key link in the cerebral reward system is a network of mesolimbic dopamine neurons - nerve cells located in the ventral tegmental region (VOT) at the base of the brain and sending projections to various parts of the anterior part of the brain, mainly to the nucleus accumbens (nucleus accumbens). GPs release the neurotransmitter dopamine from axon terminals, which binds to the corresponding neurons of the nucleus accumbens. The dopamine neural pathway from the GP to the nucleus accumbens plays an important role in the development of drug addiction: animals with damage to these brain structures completely lose drug use.

Reward rheostat

The reward system is an evolutionarily ancient brain formation. In mammals, it has a complex structure and is associated with areas of the brain that give emotional coloring to sensations and direct animals and humans to achieve rewards - food, sexual, social, etc. Amygdala. for example, it helps determine whether the sensation was pleasant or unpleasant. and form connections between it and other environmental factors. takes part in the formation of an event (sensation) - where, when and under what circumstances it happened. The frontal areas of the cerebral cortex process and integrate information, determining the final individual. Meanwhile, the NAC-nucleus accumbens pathway acts as a reward rheostat: it informs other brain centers to what extent the individual's activity contributes to the achievement of reward. The higher the score, the more likely it is that the body will remember this form of activity and repeat it later.

While the basic concepts of the brain's reward system have evolved from animal experimentation, research over the past 10 years using neuroimaging techniques has shown that similar neural structures control behavior associated with natural or narcotic reward. and in humans. Using magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography, it was found that the suggestion to sniff cocaine caused drug addicts to increase neural activity in the nucleus accumbens. In the same way, the nucleus (and besides it - the amygdala and some areas of the cortex) reacted to the demonstration of the video clip by the subjects in which other people were sniffing cocaine. In avid gamblers, these areas of the brain were activated in response to the presentation of pictures of slot machines. Thus, it can be assumed that the neural pathway of the GP - the nucleus accumbens - plays an important role in the development of painful addiction and non-narcotic dependence.

Dopamine involvement

Why does cocaine affect the brain's reward system in the same way? which is known. increases heart rate, and heroin, which is essentially a pain relieving sedative? The reason is clear: all drugs cause an increased influx of dopamine (and sometimes signals that mimic its action) to the nucleus accumbens.

When GP neurons are fired, they send electrical signals through their cells to the nucleus accumbens. These, in turn, stimulate the release of dopamine from the tips of the axon into a tiny space - the synaptic cleft that separates the axonal terminal and the neuron of the nucleus accumbens. Here, dopamine binds to the corresponding receptors in the membrane of neurons in the nucleus accumbens, and the signal enters the cell. When signals need to be “turned off,” the GP neuron removes excess dopamine from the synaptic cleft and stores it in the axon until the need to send a signal to the nucleus accumbens neurons again arises.

Cocaine and other stimulant drugs temporarily disable the protein that transports dopamine from the synaptic cleft to the axonal terminal of the GP neuron. Thus, an excess of dopamine remains in the synaptic cleft, which continues to act on the neurons of the nucleus accumbens. Heroin and other opiates behave differently. They bind to the GP neurons, which are responsible for the "shutdown" of other neurons in the same area - those that release dopamine. The latter begin to uncontrollably pour out excess dopamine on the neurons of the nucleus accumbens. In addition, opiates can generate a powerful reward signal by acting directly on the nucleus accumbens. However, the effects of drugs are not limited to stimulating the release of euphoric dopamine. To adapt to the effects of drugs, the reward system gradually changes - this is how drug addiction arises.

Addictive

In the early stages of drug use, animals and humans develop resistance to and dependence on drugs. To cheer up, the addict each time has to slightly increase the dose of the drug, which inevitably gives rise to withdrawal symptoms. Thus, systematic drug use suppresses individual links in the brain's reward system.

The process described above involves a protein that binds to the CAMP-dependent element (cAMP response element-binding protein, CREB). CREBis a transcription factor - a protein that regulates gene expression, and hence the behavior of nerve cells in general. When a drug is injected, the concentration of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens increases, which causes sensitive nerve cells to increase cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), an intermediary substance that activates CREB . Activated CREB binds to specific regions of genes, initiating the synthesis of encoded proteins. But not only is it involved in suppressing the brain's reward system CREB. A few days after stopping the drug intake, this transcription factor is inactivated, therefore the action CREB it cannot be explained, for example, the changes that force addicts to resume drug use after years and even decades of abstinence. Relapses are largely due to sensitization and increased drug action.

Paradoxically, with respect to the same drug in humans and animals, both a decrease in the body's susceptibility to drugs and sensitization can develop. Soon after taking the drug, activity increases CREB and resistance to its action increases: within a few days, the body needs an increasing amount of the drug to stimulate the reward system. But if you stop taking it, the activity CREB falls, as a result of which sensitization develops, giving rise to the drug. Unrelenting cravings persist even after long periods of abstinence. To understand the nature of sensitization, it is first necessary to find out what molecular changes can persist for a period exceeding several days. The thought immediately comes to mind of another transcription factor - delta-fosB.

Drug breakdown

Delta-fosB is associated with the development of drug addiction in a completely different way than CREB. In experiments on mice and rats have been shown. that the constant systematic use of drugs leads to a gradual and stable increase in the concentration of this protein in the nucleus accumbens and other structures of the brain. In addition, since delta-fosB is extremely stable, it remains active in the neurons of these structures weeks and months after taking the drugs. Such activity could well allow the protein to maintain changes in gene expression long after drug cessation.

Studies of mutant mice with overproduction of delta-fosB in the nucleus accumbens show that rodents are hypersensitive to drugs. They resumed taking the drug with extraordinary ease after prolonged withdrawal. Interestingly, delta-fosB was also produced in experimental mice in response to repeated rewards of a non-narcotic nature (for example, running fast in a squirrel wheel or consuming sugar). Thus, it is likely that delta-fosB is involved in the development of addiction to a much wider range of pleasures than narcotic drugs.

Recent studies can explain the long-term persistence of sensitization after the return of delta-fosB concentration to normal. It is known that the constant systematic exposure to cocaine and other drugs leads to the formation of additional spines on the dendrites of the neurons of the nucleus accumbens, with the help of which the cell contacts other neurons. In rodents, this process can continue for several months after drug withdrawal. It can be assumed that delta-fosB is responsible for the formation of additional dendritic spines.

Glutamate involvement

So far, we have only talked about changes in the brain reward system associated with dopamine metabolism. However, other structures, such as the tonsil, hippocampus, and frontal cortex, also take part in the development of drug addiction. They all interact with the reward system (GP and nucleus accumbens) to release the neurotransmitter glutamate. As it was found in animal experiments, drugs cause a change in the sensitivity to glutamate of the reward system, increase both the release of dopamine from the GP and the sensitivity to dopamine of the nucleus accumbens. As a result, increased activity CREBand delta fosB.

Short-term stimuli of a certain type can increase the hippocampal neurons to glutamate. The phenomenon, called long-term potentiation. underlies the formation of a memory trace and, apparently, is mediated by the movement of some glutamate receptors into the membranes of nerve cells. where they begin to respond to glutamate released into synaptic clefts. Drugs affect the inclusion of glutamate receptors in the brain's reward system, as well as affect the synthesis of some of them.

In the aggregate, all these changes in the cerebral reward system lead to the development of a stable reaction of the body to the action of narcotic drugs, their dependence and complex forms of behavior associated with their search. Many aspects of such shifts still remain a mystery to researchers. but the mechanisms of some processes have already been thoroughly studied. During prolonged drug use and for a short time after cessation of drug use, a change in CAMP concentration and activity is noted CREBin the brain's reward system. This leads to an increase in drug tolerance and dependence on it and a simultaneous decrease in the person's susceptibility to the drug, which plunges the addict into depression and apathy. Long abstinence from drug use leads to a change in the activity of the protein delta fosBand glutamate systems of the brain. Such changes increase the addict's sensitivity to the drug when, after a long time, he tries it again. and generate strong emotional reactions in him, both when recalling past pleasures, and when exposed to external factors that revive these memories.

General therapeutic approaches

Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the development of drug addiction opens up new perspectives for drug therapy. Drug abuse causes serious harm to the physical and mental condition of people and is one of the main causes of diseases of internal organs. The risk of cirrhosis is very high among alcoholics. among smokers - lung cancer; among drug addicts sharing syringes - AIDS. The economic damage from drug abuse in the US is more than $ 300 billion annually. If we expand the concept of "addiction" to include other forms of pathologically obsessive behavior (for example, gluttony and gambling), the figure will become immeasurably higher. Thus. Developing therapeutic approaches that can correct people's abnormal responses to reward stimuli (be it cocaine, cakes, or a slot machine) could be of immense benefit to society.

Treatment of drug addiction with modern methods in most cases is ineffective. There are drugs that do not allow the drug to reach the appropriate brain structure, but they do not cause a normalization of the patient's brain biochemism. nor weakening his drug addiction. Other drugs mimic the effects of drugs and give a person time to break the habit of addiction. But their use is fraught with the fact that the patient can change one habit for another, although non-drug rehabilitation programs help many. However, a significant percentage of their participants resume drug use over time.

There is hope. that in the future, revealing the biological mechanisms of drug addiction. researchers will succeed in creating a new generation of drugs. Compounds that can specifically react with glutamate or dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens, or substances that interfere with LEFT or delta- will help to wrest a person out of the deadly embrace of drugs. fosBact on the corresponding genes in this structure of the brain.

You also need to learn to recognize people. addicted to drug abuse. Despite the fact that psychological, emotional, social and environmental factors play a huge role in the development of a habit, statistical studies show that the risk of addiction to a drug by 50% is due to genes. These genes have not yet been identified. but if scientists learn to diagnose drug addiction at an early age, people at risk can get timely help.

Given all the circumstances, it is unlikely that drugs will ever appear. able to provide complete treatment for this syndrome. Only a complete refusal to use drugs can ensure human life. This can be done only at an early stage of their application with a certain willpower of the subject and the help of rehabilitation programs. However, one can hope. that new therapeutic approaches will weaken its biological component (drug dependence) and open up new possibilities for the physical and mental rehabilitation of patients with psychosocial methods.

Eric Nestler and Robert Malenka

(In the world of science, no. 6, 2004)

Recent studies show that it is possible to correct gene abnormalities in the body of a specific person with the help of drugs, and what we eat can affect our DNA.

When in 1990, scientists launched the Human Genome project, they hoped that, among other things, they would be able to solve the mystery of the genetic origin of the disease. And they succeeded ... in a way.

As it turns out, the more we study the effects of genes on health, the less our actual knowledge of the subject. Despite numerous analyzes and assessment of risk levels, we still cannot say for sure who will get sick and who will not.

The reason is that heredity quite rarely paves a direct path for itself to a particular disease, moreover, it may not even pave it. We now understand that family history is just one piece of the puzzle in the overall picture of the disease.

Family matters

Let's start with what is known for sure. In 9 out of 10 diseases that are the leading causes of death in the United States (this coincides in many respects with statistics in other developed countries - translator's note), the main ones are cancer and heart disease, the role of genes is obvious.

In some cases, this role is huge. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are ideal examples of a direct link between genetic material and disease. About 60% of women with this kind of mutation develop breast cancer. This is one of the few transparent cases where genetics offers a real chance of early and most effective intervention.

Such cases are rare. In general, heredity is only a small fraction of the overall risk assessment of the disease. If we again take cancer as an example, then according to experts, only 5-10% of all cancers are explained solely by heredity.

For diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the influence of genes is even more blurred, because external causes play an important role in their occurrence and development. Undoubtedly, the doctor first needs to know the patient's family history, but this is far from the only risk factor that he will have to analyze.

Of course, we know that people who have never smoked die from lung cancer, and those who have not been overweight die of heart attacks. On the other hand, each of us at least once met a person who, despite bad habits, is still quite healthy.

However, all this is more likely an exception than a rule. Scientific research proves over and over again that external factors are important. And even very much.

Who rules

The individual sequence of our genes may turn out to be less important than their expression, and it, in turn, depends on epigenetic markers that “turn on” or “turn off” genes, and thus “rule” our health.

And here a surprise awaits us: epigenetics is not predetermined, it depends on external factors.

Take DNA methylation (attachment of a methyl group), for example. It is one of the many processes by which the body controls gene expression. Disruptions in methylation can lead to blocking of some of the protective functions of genes, and this, in turn, can contribute to the development of diseases, such as cancer.

Such failures, however, do not occur spontaneously and are reversible. Science is currently considering the possibility of medical intervention in this kind of process to prevent disease. Early diagnosis of malfunctions and the blocking of dangerous epigenetic changes with the help of drug therapy is one of the new care routes that scientists are considering today.

This is far from the only way to interfere with the genetic program. Studies show that many factors, such as nutrition, exposure to toxic substances, level of physical activity, can affect how DNA forms the state of our body.

Conclusion: “bad” genes require expression to do their dirty work. In other words, an external factor is needed that will trigger the development of the disease. But on the contrary, you can turn them off. The same applies to “good” defense genes.

Life-long changes ... and even longer

It is clear that proper nutrition is one of the golden rules of health. Everyone knows about it. However, very few people realize that nutrition is a serious epigenetic factor, that is, it can affect their DNA or even the DNA of their offspring.

Yes exactly. The way you eat will affect the DNA of your future children and grandchildren. Modern research proves that epigenetic changes are not reversed for future generations.

Scientists are just beginning to understand how far epigenetic changes extend, but the role of nutrition is already clear. And thanks to a new direction that is emerging literally before our eyes, nutrigenomics, scientists may soon be able to draw up individual nutrition programs based on a personal list of genetically determined risks.

Imagine someone has a genetic predisposition to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer - how to eat properly?

First, eliminate one product, namely sugar. The latest research shows that the dependence on it of a modern person is the most dangerous factor for health. The list of diseases triggered by refined white sugar is endless, and the most harmful of the harmful sugar-containing foods is soda.

Translation (abridged) by Marina SOLODOVNIKOVA

Factrum offers a collection of facts about how our brains and consciousness work.

1. You suffer from inattention blindness

Watch the following video. You need to count the number of passes that people in white shirts have made. Watch the video BEFORE continuing to read.

This is an example of what is called "blindness of inattention." The idea is that we are often blind to what is happening literally "under our noses" if we are focused on some other task.

In this case, a man in a gorilla costume goes through a group of players, stops and leaves. Participants involved in counting passes often simply do not notice the gorilla. Moreover, those who are aware of the appearance of the gorilla become even more inattentive and skip other changes - such as changing the color of the curtains and leaving one of the girls.

2. You can only remember 3-4 items at a time

There is a rule of the "magic number 7 plus minus 2", according to which a person cannot store more than 5-9 blocks of information at the same time. Most of the information in short-term memory is stored for 20-30 seconds, after which we quickly forget it, if we do not repeat it again and again.

Although most people can keep about 7 digits in memory for a short period, almost all of us find it difficult to keep 10 digits.

Recent studies show that we are able to store even less: about 3-4 blocks of information at the same time. An example is a telephone number: it is split into several digital blocks to make it easier to remember.

3. We do not perceive the combination of red and blue color well

Although these colors are used in many national flags, red and blue are difficult for our eyes to perceive when they are next to each other.

This is due to an effect called chromostereopsis, which causes some colors to “protrude” and others to be removed. This causes eye irritation and fatigue.

This effect is most pronounced with a combination of red and blue, as well as red and green.

4. You see things differently than you perceive them

According to a study by the University of Cambridge, “There have been many more salty bills in the background. Smaoe vaonzhe is chotby pervya and carried bkuva blei on svioh metsah. "

Even if the rest of the letters are mixed, you can read the sentence. This is because the human brain does not read every letter, but the whole word. It constantly processes information from the senses and the way you perceive information (words) is usually different from what you see (confused letters).

5. You are able to hold close attention for about 10 minutes.

Even if you are in a meeting, you are interested in the topic, and the person is interested in presenting the subject, then maximum time of your close attention - 7-10 minutes... After that, attention will begin to weaken and you will need to take a break to further maintain interest in the topic.

6. The ability to postpone pleasure comes from childhood

Your ability to postpone the immediate gratification of your desires arises in early childhood. People who can delay gratification early on do better in school and cope better with stress and frustration.

7. We daydream 30% of the time.

Do you like to be in the clouds? According to psychologists, we all love to indulge in dreams at least 30% of the time. Some of us are even bigger, but that's not always a bad thing. The researchers argue that people who like to daydream tend to be more resourceful and better at solving various problems.

8. A habit is formed, on average, in 66 days

The more complex the behavior we want to reinforce, the longer it will take. So, those who wanted to get into the habit of regularly playing sports often needed 1.5 times more time than those who developed the habit of eating fruit for lunch. Even if you skip day or two, it won't affect the timing of the habit, but skipping too many days in a row can slow down the process.

9. You overestimate your reaction to future events

We do not predict the future very well. More specifically, we overestimate our reaction to future events, be they pleasant or negative.

Research has shown that people believe that positive experiences, such as getting married or winning big, will make them much happier than they actually do. Likewise, we believe that negative events, such as a job loss or an accident, will make us much more depressed than in reality.

10. You blame the other person, not the situation (and the situation, not yourself)

Remember the case when you were waiting for another person who was late for a meeting. Most likely, you explained his delay by irresponsibility and lack of focus. In a similar situation, you would attribute your own lateness to external circumstances (traffic jams).

In psychology, this is called the "fundamental attribution error" - the tendency to explain the behavior of others by internal personality traits, and one's own - by external factors ("I had no choice," "I was not lucky").

Unfortunately, even realizing our tendency to make unfair judgments, we still continue to make this mistake - this tendency is inherent in all people from birth.

11. The number of friends you may have is limited

Even if you can brag about a few thousand friends on social media, you actually have a lot less of them. Psychologists and anthropologists have identified the "Dunbar number" - that is, the maximum number of close relationships that a person can have, and it ranges from 50 to 150.

12. You can't help but pay attention to food, sex and danger.

Have you noticed that people always stop to look at the accident scenes? But we cannot but pay attention to the situation of danger. Every human has an ancient survival brain region that asks, “Can I eat this? Can I have sex with this? Can this kill me? ”

Food, sex and danger are the most important things. After all, without food a person will die, without sex the race will not continue, and if a person dies, the first two points will not make sense.

13. You know how to do things that you've never done before.

Imagine that you have never seen an iPad, but they gave you one and offered to read books on it. Even before you turn on the iPad and start using it, you’ll already have guesses in your head how the book will look on the screen, what functions you can use, and how you will do it.

In other words, you have a "mental model" of reading a book from a tablet, even if you have never done so. It will be different from the model that a person who has read e-books before and someone who does not even know what an iPad is at all.

These models are based on incomplete facts, past experience, and intuition.

14. You want more choices than you can handle.

If you go to any supermarket, you will see a huge range of products because people "need a lot of choice."

In one study conducted in a supermarket, researchers presented participants with 6 types of jam, and then 24 types of jam. And although people were more likely to stop at the counter with 24 types of jam, they were 6 times more likely to buy jam at the counter with 6 types of jam.

This can be explained simply: despite the fact that it seems to us that we want more, our brain can only cope with a limited number of elements at a time.

15. You are happier when you are busy with something

Imagine you are at the airport and you need to collect your luggage. However, it will take you about 12 minutes to reach the baggage claim area. When you approach the baggage claim, you immediately pick up your suitcase.

Now try to imagine a similar situation, but only you get to the delivery tape in 2 minutes and wait for the suitcase for 10 minutes. Although it took you 12 minutes to get your baggage in both situations, in the second case you were probably more impatient and unhappy.

If a person has no reason to be active, he decides to do nothing. And while it helps us conserve energy, doing nothing makes us feel impatient and unhappy.

16. Most decisions you make subconsciously

Although we like to think that our decisions are carefully monitored and thought out, research suggests that everyday decisions are actually subconscious and for a reason.

Every second, our brain is attacked by more than 11 million individual data units, and since we cannot verify all of this carefully, the subconscious mind helps us make decisions.

17. You change your memories

We perceive our memories as small “movies” that we play in our head and think that they are stored just like video on a computer. However, it is not.

Every time you mentally return to an event, you change it, since the neural pathways are activated differently each time. This may be influenced by later events. and the desire to fill in the gaps in memory.

So, for example, you don't remember who else was at the family meeting, but since your aunt was usually present, you can eventually include her in your memory.

18. You cannot do several things at once

If you think that you are doing several things well, you are mistaken. Scientists have proven that we cannot do 2-3 things at once. Of course, we can go and talk to our friend at the same time, but our brain focuses only on one priority function at a particular moment in time.

The thing is that we cannot think of two different things at the same time.

19. Your brightest memories are wrong

Memories of exciting and dramatic events are called “flash-memories” in psychology, and they turned out to be full of mistakes.

Famous examples of this phenomenon are the events of September 11th. The psychologists asked the participants to describe in detail what they were doing, where there were other details immediately after the terrorist attack and after 3 years.

It turned out that 90% of later descriptions differed from the original ones. Many people can describe in detail where and what they were doing when they heard the news. The only problem is that these details are incorrect because strong emotions associated with memory distort memories.

20. Your brain is as active in sleep as it is during wakefulness.

When you sleep and dream, your brain processes and accumulates the experience of the whole day, creates associations from the information received, decides what to remember and what to forget.

You've probably heard the advice “get a good night's sleep” before an exam or important event. If you want to remember what you have learned, it is best to go to bed immediately after you have learned the material and give your brain time to sort the information out.

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