Epigenetics and Heritable Control of Gene Expression
By Rebecca Roberts,
The Scientist
| 12. 18. 2024
The epigenome regulates nearly every process in the human body. By studying epigenetics, scientists have revealed some secrets to aging, cancer, and complex diseases.
Since its discovery in the early 1940s, epigenetics has been established as a key driver of human development, health, aging, and disease, and is now a burgeoning field of research. In this article, we discover how the epigenome can affect phenotype without changing the underlying DNA sequence, the different types of epigenetic modifications, how epigenetic marks are inherited, its effects on aging and disease, and how the epigenome can be modified for therapeutic benefit.
What Is Epigenetics?
Epigenetics is the study of various heritable alterations that control gene expression without changing the DNA sequence.1 The name epigenetics comes from the Greek prefix “epi”, which means on top of, or in addition to, genetics.2 The collection of epigenetic marks in a cell or organism is known as its epigenome.
“Epigenetics is the layer of control that sits on top of the DNA sequence itself, and it's what dictates if genes turn on or not,” explained bioengineer Brian Cosgrove, who works as a principal scientist at the epigenome editing startup Tune Therapeutics. “Another way to think about...
Related Articles
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...
By Ryan Cross, Endpoints News | 08.19.2025
Human eggs are incredibly rare cells. The ovary typically produces only 400 mature eggs across a woman’s life. But biologists in George Church’s lab at Harvard University — a group that’s never content with nature’s limits — just got a...
By Katherine Drabiak, Journal of Medical Ethics Forum | 08.07.2025
Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute
Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on children born from pronuclear genome transfer (sometimes called “3-parent IVF,” “mitochondrial donation” or “mitochondrial replacement therapy”) at Newcastle Fertility Center...
By Nicky Hudson, The Conversation | 08.12.2025