Epigenetik

The human genome has been decoded, but it contains far fewer pieces of information than expected. A second layer beyond the genes has come into focus in the scientific community: epigenetics. In addition to the DNA sequence, but closely linked to it, there exists a second, and even a third and fourth layer of information. These epigenetic programs can turn entire chromosomes on and off. They are what elicits the complex and infinitely diverse music of life from the keyboard of genes. In all of this, they serve as a hinge function between the environment and the genome, acting as a sort of missing link that allows the old debate about the significance of genes and environment to enter a new phase. The findings of epigenetics gain particular urgency due to the foreseeable consequences for medicine and evolutionary biology, addressing the major questions of life sciences.