The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease and Inheritance

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Reading The Epigenetics Revolution was the first time I read a science book outside my school curriculum. In this book, Nessa Carey describes how the world around you can and will influence everything about the way your body works by changing your genetic material. I found this book so interesting because it made me think about genetics in a completely new way, as something changeable and constantly developing, as opposed to the rigid structure I had thought of before. Expectedly, this way of thinking about biological processes has major consequences for established dichotomies of twentieth century biosciences, and in particular for the genotype/phenotype distinction (coined by Johannsen in the 1910s). In the context of the gene-centrism of the modern evolutionary synthesis, the relationship between genotype and phenotype was typically thought of as a relationship between a cause and its visible and mechanistically deduced effects, “between a plan and a product” ( Jablonka and Lamb, 2005, p. 33). In that theoretical framework the chain of causal links moved unidirectionally from the active genotype to the ‘dead-end' phenotype. In the postgenomic era, instead, the relationship between genotype and phenotype is more often represented, rather than as a linear causal chain, in terms of a “rope” ( Griesemer, 2002), a term that wishes to capture the profound intertwinement of the actual genetic material with the various layers of its phenotypic “appearance” ( Oyama et al, 2001). Surfing over this rope, epigenetics resumes its original Waddingtonian emphasis, becoming a convenient heading for the multiple strands and complex apparatus of “developmental transformations intervening between genotype and phenotype” ( Pigliucci and Muller, 2010, p. 308, our italics; see also Schlichting, and Pigliucci, 1998; Robert, 2004; Hallgrímsson and Hall, 2011). Overall, I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in anything biology related! It is a challenging, but really interesting read, and perhaps, as it did for me, it will change the way you think about biology! Carey's books and lectures explain developments in epigenetics to a scientifically interested general audience. [22] [23] [24] Carey has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers on epigenetics and other aspects of biology. She also writes in the popular press examining popular culture and media from a scientific viewpoint. [25] [26] [27] The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance [ edit ] Carey suggests that Audrey Hepburn's slight figure may be the product of epigenetic changes from wartime deprivation.

The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting

The first is through what’s called DNA methylation. That’s when a chemical tag called a methyl group is added to DNA. Most of the time, this specific process results in genes being switched off.For our young mice, where we see differences in weight, it’s thought this is caused by both DNA methylation and histone modifications. And it’s likely that these epigenetic differences are established very early on – maybe even in the womb. She then worked for five years in the Metropolitan Police forensic science laboratory as a forensic scientist. [8] After studying for her degree in immunology part-time, Carey decided to continue academic research and returned to the University of Edinburgh to pursue doctoral studies. Carey was awarded her Doctorate ( PhD) by research thesis on the virology of the maedi-visna virus which affects sheep, in 1993. [8] [1] Similarly, we argue that epigenomic profiles, in their expanding variety, provide the new place holders to anchor the environment to the genome and enable the attending analogic–digital translations, conceptually as much as experimentally. Sometimes it can be hard to study epigenetic modifications in humans. When we’re dealing with lab mice, we can create genetically identical litters, carefully control the environment, and, in general, do with them pretty much as we please. With humans, not so much.

The Epigenetics Revolution Decoding Life – The Epigenetics Revolution

Epigenetics isn’t important just because it’s at the forefront of biological research. It’s also significant because of the outsize role it plays in our lives more generally: from obesity to trauma and cardiovascular health to metabolism, epigenetics underlies some of the most important processes in our bodies. From academia to industry with Nessa Carey: Naturejobs Blog". blogs.nature.com . Retrieved 23 January 2017. Nessa Carey, Pfizer | MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit". University of Bristol . Retrieved 22 January 2017. Although I found the scientific concepts in this book quite hard at times, Carey uses great metaphors to help aid understanding, and I was amazed at how much I could get considering I had never heard of epigenetics prior to reading it, and even my genetics knowledge had been very basic. Also, because it focuses a lots on how epigenetics is responsible for well-known facts (e.g. why all tortoiseshell cats are female), it’s easier to relate to than some of the more advanced medical science and biochemistry books, which was really nice. In addition, it has great diagrams to help explain some of the more difficult ideas.Carey, Nessa (25 February 2015). "The Epigenetics Revolution. Part of the Brighton Science Festival". Eastbourne Sceptics in the Pub . Retrieved 27 January 2017.

Book Review: The Epigenetics Revolution - How - Progress

Book review – The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development, & Paleontology in the Long NineteenthCentury September 1, 2023Professor Nessa Carey – Speakers for Schools". www.speakers4schools.org . Retrieved 13 February 2017. Geddes, Linda (4 February 2015). "An encyclopaedic guide to the dark genome". New Scientist . Retrieved 26 January 2017. a b Carey, N (1993). Studies on the extracellular envelope glycoprotein of maedi-visna virus. British Library EThOS – Thesis details (Ph.D) . Retrieved 30 April 2015. Epigenetics is a rapidly evolving science that is often only described in scientific literature or textbooks. In “The Epigenetics Revolution”, Nessa Carey eloquently bridges the spheres of academia and scientific journalism ( Carey, 2012). The phrasing “revolution” is a dramatic use of English that effectively portrays a momentous shift in biological thinking. For the novice, it is a good introduction to epigenetics whilst it provides professional readers with a concise summary of historically significant experiments and translational context.

The Epigenetics Revolution - University College Oxford

The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease and Inheritance This is a real personal statement written by a student for their university application. It might help you decide what to include in your own. There are lots more examples in our collection of sample personal statements.Epigenetics is a relatively new field of biology that basically looks at the effects of modifying gene expression, rather than the actual genes themselves. This book explores how research in this field has led to huge scientific discoveries, as well as explaining how epigenetics can affect all aspects of our lives, from ageing to addiction. In particular, I found it really interesting to read about diseases that were determined not by changes in genes, but changes in the features responsible for modifying expression of these genes, and how these diseases could be inherited. In reading this book, I realised that the DNA molecule alone does not determine our futures anywhere near to the degree I thought it did before. In other words, they’re the unique instructions that tell the individual cells that make up your body how to behave in different circumstances. Epigenetic information is what stops a skin cell from turning into a neuron, or a liver cell from turning into skeletal muscle. Nessa Carey is a British biologist working in the field of molecular biology and biotechnology. She is International Director of the technology transfer organization PraxisUnico and a visiting professor at Imperial College London. International Director, Visiting Professor and author: Nessa Carey". Medical Research Council. 16 March 2015 . Retrieved 23 January 2017. Nessa Carey takes us on a lively and up-to-date tour of what's known about epigenetic mechanisms and their implications for ageing and cancer. Laurence Hurst, University of Bath, Focus Magazine