A recent study indicates that the violence in Syria in the 1980s may have altered the DNA of the victims' descendants. The study was conducted by Connie J. Mulligan, a professor of anthropology and genetics at the University of Florida, in collaboration with researchers from Syria, Jordan, and the West, and was published in the journal *Scientific Reports*. The findings reveal the potential long-term effects of violence on genes.
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03-10, 2025Researchers discovered that the grandchildren of survivors of the 1982 Hama massacre may still carry traces of the stress experienced by their grandmothers in their genomes. This genetic imprint is passed down to grandchildren through the mother, potentially providing the first evidence in humans of the intergenerational transmission of stress, a phenomenon previously observed only in animals. This discovery holds significant scientific importance.
Professor Mulligan stated, "The idea that trauma and violence can have an impact on future generations should help people be more empathetic and encourage policymakers to pay more attention to violence." She added, "This may even help explain seemingly unbreakable intergenerational cycles of abuse, poverty, and trauma around the world, including in the United States."
The study focuses on epigenetics, which examines how an individual's behavior and environment can cause changes that affect the way genes work. The research team collected samples from Syrian grandmothers and mothers in Jordan who were pregnant during the Hama massacre or the violence following the start of the Syrian civil war in late 2011. In addition, families who had moved to Jordan before 1980 were selected as a control group.
Researchers identified 14 specific genomic regions where modifications were associated with the violence experienced in Hama, and also found 21 epigenetic sites in the genomes of individuals who directly experienced the Syrian violence. Furthermore, the study also indicated that individuals exposed to violent environments in their mother's womb exhibited signs of "accelerated epigenetic aging," a type of biological aging potentially linked to susceptibility to age-related diseases.
It is currently unclear what impact, if any, these epigenetic changes will have on the lives of those who carry them. Nevertheless, the researchers believe that their study is an important step towards a deeper understanding of the long-term effects of exposure to violence. Professor Mulligan emphasized, "We think our work is relevant to many forms of violence, not just the refugee issue. Domestic violence, sexual violence, gun violence: all the different types of violence we have in the United States. We should study the impact of violence, and we should take it more seriously."
