
The Famine Ended 70 Years Ago, but Dutch Genes Still Bear Scars - montrose
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/science/dutch-famine-genes.html
======
rystsov
It would be interesting to repeat the research in St.Petersburg, the siege
during the WW2 lasted more than 2 year and there were 642,000 casualties among
civilians.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad)

~~~
kbart
Holodomor even more, 2.4-12 million people have have died of starvation
deliberately caused by Soviets.

0\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor)

------
DoreenMichele
It looks like fairly solid science:

 _Finally, the researchers merged the results — and found a few methyl groups
that were linked both to the famine and to health conditions later in life.
“We were able to connect the three dots,” said Dr. Lumey...

And the Dutch famine probably led to many miscarriages and early deaths. It’s
possible that the survivors had some genetic variant that made them resilient
and gave them a distinctive epigenetic profile not captured in this study._

I had never heard of this famine. I read the article and found myself
wondering how this impacts the collective subconscious and the culture as a
whole. Probably not in a good way. (That is _not_ a criticism of the Dutch.
Please read that compassionately.)

I wish I knew what to do to promote food security in the world. It seems like
food security is some fundamental aspect of peace and just making sure people
get fed well (both enough and healthily) is one of the best ways to avert all
kinds of problems.

~~~
blunte
And now the Netherlands, a tiny country with but 18 million people, is the
second largest exporter of food in the world.

[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-...](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-
agriculture-sustainable-farming/)

~~~
nomercy400
Don't forget the history of the Netherlands, where during the 17th century it
was the center of the world. You'd be surprised how many colonies the
Netherlands had, and some of them have become quite famous (eg. New Zealand),
albeit some of their name change (lookup New Amsterdam and New Holland for
fun).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age)

~~~
rco8786
Yep, there’s a reason it’s the “Holland tunnel”. :)

~~~
DoreenMichele
_It was named for Clifford M. Holland, the engineer who designed it._

[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holland-
Tunnel](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holland-Tunnel)

Leaving these here in part because New Holland as a historical reference was
not easy to find.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Holland_(Australia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Holland_\(Australia\))

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam)

------
cromulent
Interestingly enough, the same famine confirmed gluten as the cause of coeliac
disease. Death rates for children with the disease dropped during the famine,
as flour was unavailable, and the children relapsed once they were given the
first supplies of bread.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease#History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease#History)

------
iamjeff
It would be equally worthwhile to see the impact of famines in Sub-Sahara
Africa on genes of Africans (especially across the Sahel).

~~~
Someone
Worthwhile, yes, but harder to do. Those countries have less reliable data to
work with, and not such a nice sharp cutoff. Here, babies born in the winters
of 43-44 and 45-46 can serve as control groups for those born in the winter of
44-45.

~~~
iamjeff
The reliability of demographic data across Sub-Sahara Africa is a significant
problem for a multitude of research disciplines.

But there's been a host of severe famines since World War II across the Sahel.
It is possible that the reliability of birth data would have improved over
this period to a degree sufficient to support research techniques.

In fact, there's been research along these lines in SSA already, especially
regarding the impact of malnourishment on intellectual development among other
factors.

Still, important research that goes to show that famines have generational
effects that extend all the way to the genetic level.

------
tzahola
Could these genetic changes contribute to the Dutch growth spurt of the
70-80s?

[https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5544085](https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5544085)

~~~
vanderZwan
No. First, the generations don't match. Children from 1944 would be 36-46
years old in the 70-80s. Now, you may think: "what about _their_ children,
could there be a rebound effect?" And that's the other reason: the whole thing
that makes the effects of the Dutch Hunger Winter so interesting to study is
that they have such a clear cut-off point. It's like a natural control group.
The increase in height was pervasive in Dutch society, the opposite of that.

The Dutch growth spurt can almost exclusively be attributed to change in diet.
IIRC, humans used to be taller _before_ the age of agriculture, and not-so-
coincidentally have a much more diverse diet as well. In the 20th century we
have basically been recovering to pre-agriculture levels of nutrition quality.
Just look at the plots in that article you linked: _every_ nation has
increased its median height, not just the Netherlands.

------
yownie
Am I crazy? It's "Bare" not "Bear" right? I can't be the only one?

It's the NYT fer chrissakes

~~~
grzm
I think they got it right.

[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear](https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/bear)

> _" ² bear"_

> _" verb \ ˈber \"_

...

> _" b : to have as a feature or characteristic — bears a likeness to her
> grandmother"_

...

> _" d : to have as an identification — bore the name of John"_

~~~
yownie
vs

[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare](https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/bare)

: open to view : exposed

    
    
        laying bare their secrets

~~~
grzm
The definition you're showing there is a adjective. The verb form of _bare_
means _to uncover_ , which doesn't make much sense in context: _Dutch Genes
Still Uncover Scars_. Compare with _Dutch Genes Still Feature Scars_.

There's a note on usage on the page you provided:

> _There is considerable confusion between the verbs bear and bare. It may
> help to remember that the verb bare has only one meaning: "to uncover," as
> in "bare your shoulders" and "a dog baring its teeth." All other uses of the
> verb are for bear: "bearing children," "the right to bear arms," "bearing up
> under the stress/weight," "can't bear the thought," "bear south," "it bears
> repeating."_

------
5_minutes
That said, I wonder, as a German now these days, how they keep on relating to
these events: posts like these, wargames, movies, you name it. Ww2 is being
"exploited" every day.

I don't know. Wizo!

~~~
tnolet
As a Dutch man living in Germany I take my hat off for how active, balanced
and thorough the Germans deal with the war. They should be an example to other
countries.

~~~
MandieD
I’m an American living here, too (in Nürnberg, even!) and I wish my own
country could get as honest with ourselves about what our country did to the
enslaved Africans and their descendants, and to the Native Americans, and what
we’ve failed to do, as Germans are about what their grandparents did and
allowed to happen.

