the epigenetics revolution by nessa carey

Our increasing knowledge of junk DNA has led to innovative research and treatment approaches that may finally ameliorate some of these conditions.

But researchers have recently discovered variations and modulations in this junk DNA that are involved with several intractable diseases. Other regions that make up 98 percent of the human genome were dismissed as 'junk,' sequences that serve no purpose. For decades after the identification of the structure of DNA, scientists focused only on genes, the regions of the genome that contain codes to produce proteins. Carey concludes with a discussion of the future directions for this research and its ability to improve human health and well-being.Īn exploration of the once-ignored portion of our DNA and the role it plays in our bodies, from the author of The Epigenetics Revolution. Reaching beyond biology, epigenetics now informs work on drug addiction, the long-term effects of famine, and the physical and psychological consequences of childhood trauma. Nessa Carey, a leading epigenetics researcher, connects the field's arguments to such diverse phenomena as how ants and queen bees control their colonies why tortoiseshell cats are always female why some plants need cold weather before they can flower and how our bodies age and develop disease. Surveying the twenty-year history of the field while also highlighting its latest findings and innovations, this volume provides a readily understandable introduction to the foundations of epigenetics. It explains why mapping an organism's genetic code is not enough to determine how it develops or acts and shows how nurture combines with nature to engineer biological diversity. Epigenetics can potentially revolutionize our understanding of the structure and behavior of biological life on Earth.

The epigenetics revolution by nessa carey