המחקרים שלנו
מאמרים קצרים על עולם האפיגנטיקה
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The Process and Stages of Research
5 hours of one-on-one meetings and 22 years of accompaniment
We are recruiting 1,500 young couples at the beginning of their journey, planning to start a family before their first pregnancy. Couples who are found suitable will be accompanied by the project before their planned pregnancy, during their first pregnancy, and until their firstborn reaches adulthood. Saliva samples and multi-facet information on genetics, epigenetics, and psychological characteristics collected from the couples and their children at different points in time will allow for the creation of an updated genetic and epigenetic map and a valuable, first-of-its-kind database that will crack the 2500-year-old riddle: what are the processes that create "Who we are?". This knowledge will enable the future development of groundbreaking interventions in the field of the mind. It will provide invaluable tools and insights into who we were, who we are, and who we can be.
The research process:
1
Meeting place
The couple's apartment
Duration of the session
about 40 minutes
Pre-Pregnancy
Couples that are planning to start a family before their first pregnancy
Introduction to the project, including filming the couple interacting about relationship issues and collecting a non-invasive saliva sample from which genetic and epigenetic data will be generated. Online questionnaires on various subjects will be completed at the end of the session.
What is the purpose of this data?
The genetic information will be sent anonymously to one of Europe's leading laboratories for deciphering the genetic and epigenetic code. The digital content and questionnaires will be coded in order to learn about sociability, happiness, mental well-being, empathy, marital quality, and more. Our mapping work as researchers will begin by crossing the genetic information with the information about the mind and consciousness.
What would the Alpha couples benefit from?
Access to the latest, valuable, research-based data on relationships exclusively gathered for Alpha Project participants. A tremendous contribution to the advancement of science and the well-being of society in the future. A monetary token of appreciation for attending the meeting. Moreover, the research's insights will be documented in a blog that will work alongside the Alpha Project.
The process in detail:
A researcher from Reichman University will arrive at the couple's home after initial coordination and communication. At the meeting, which will be held in a relaxed atmosphere, a filmed conversation of the couple on issues relating to their relationship will be documented. Such as intimacy and quality of relationship as well as on matters that may be in conflict.
In addition, a non-invasive saliva sample will be collected from each partner, which will be used to produce the genetic and epigenetic data. At the end of the session, a message will be sent to the couples' cell phone with a pressable link in order to fill out questionnaires that will cover further extensive information, adding to what has been learned from the filmed session; Wide-ranging knowledge about personality structures, happiness, mental well-being, quality of couple relationship, psychopathologies and childhood experiences as well as background information about the couple. This broad psychological information about the mind and consciousness will make it possible to unearth the epigenetic maps of "who we are" – the specific epigenetic patterns that reside at the core of our thoughts, ideas, and characteristics (i.e., our personality) – all this by connecting the information collected from the saliva sample and the psychological data. All the information that will be studied will be about the common attributes of all participants and not about the individual participant whose information will remain confidential and secure.
2-3
Meeting place
The couple's apartment
Duration of the session
about 40 minutes
Pregnancy
First and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively
A documented film of the couple's conversation about their relationship during their pregnancy will be taken, and a non-invasive saliva sample will be collected, from which genetic and epigenetic data will be generated. At the end of the meeting, online questionnaires will be filled out on various topics, some identical to the first session and some covering the subjects of pregnancy and parenting preparation.
What would the Alpha couples benefit from?
Access to the latest, valuable, research-based data on relationships exclusively gathered for Alpha Project participants. A tremendous contribution to the advancement of science and the well-being of society in the future. A monetary token of appreciation for attending the meeting. Moreover, the research's insights will be documented in a blog that will work alongside the Alpha Project.
The process in detail:
Follow-up sessions for the couples who took part in the Alpha project will reoccur during the couple's first pregnancy.
Similar to the first meeting, a pair of researchers from Reichman University will arrive at the couple's home after coordination. The meeting will include a filmed conversation of the couple on issues related to their relationship during pregnancy as well as on matters that may be in conflict. In addition, we will collect a non-invasive saliva sample from each partner, which will be used to produce the epigenetic material that may undergo changes due to external factors as opposed to the genetic material itself, which is a code that does not change during our lives. At the end of the session, a message will be sent to the couple's cell phone with a pressable link in order to fill out questionnaires that will cover further extensive information, adding to what has been learned from the filmed session.
4
Meeting place
The couple's apartment
Duration of the session
about 40 minutes
Birth
Upon returning home from giving birth
A documented film of the couple's conversation with their new child will be taken, and a non-invasive saliva sample will be collected from the couple and the newborn, from which genetic and epigenetic data will be generated. At the end of the meeting, online questionnaires will be filled out on various topics, some identical to the first session and some covering the subject of birth and the initial encounter with the newborn.
What would the Alpha couples benefit from?
Access to the latest, valuable, research-based data on relationships exclusively gathered for Alpha Project participants. A tremendous contribution to the advancement of science and the well-being of society in the future. A monetary token of appreciation for attending the meeting. Moreover, the research's insights will be documented in a blog that will work alongside the Alpha Project.
The process in detail:
The fourth session will occur upon the couple's return home from the birth of their firstborn child. Like the first meetings, a pair of researchers from Reichman University will arrive at the couple's home after coordination. In this forum, there will be a filmed conversation of the couple with their child in light of the recent birth experience and issues that may be in conflict. In addition, a non-invasive saliva sample will be collected from the couple and the newborn (using a special kit that includes a saliva collection tool), which will be used to generate the genetic and epigenetic data. At the end of the session, a message will be sent to the couple's cell phone with a pressable link in order to fill out questionnaires that will cover further extensive information, adding to what has been learned from the filmed session. In addition, parents will be asked to complete a daily diary of fewer than ten questions in the first month after birth to gauge the changes and transformations in family life.
Additional meetings in the project
The first years of the eldest child
The family's additional encounters with the project will be at the ages of one, two, five, eight, twelve, sixteen, and 20 of their firstborn. The sessions will be similar in nature to the couple's sessions before the birth of their first child into the world. Still, they will also begin to include information about the child himself - his psychological growth, personality formation, and more. Full details on the content of these meetings will be given as the project grows along with project Alpha participants.