In-Depth with Epigenetics – Nessa Carey

Nessa Carey, author of Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease and Inheritance, discusses the interesting field of epigenetics.

Carey talks about the basics of epigenetics. Epigenetics is a scientific discipline that investigates and explains many things that cannot be succinctly explained by genetics alone. It seeks to answer the puzzling questions, such as how two things that are genetically identical can in fact be different from one another. Her field of epigenetics hopes to explain why different biological outcomes are possible. Epigenetics, as she states, refers to another level of information that is added to the DNA script.

The scientific author discusses stem cells, specifically focusing on the zygote, and the embryonic stem cell. Epigenetics informs our understanding of the complex structure and behavior of all biological life on Earth. It helps us to more fully grasp why simply mapping an organism's genetic code is not nearly enough to determine how it will develop or act.

Epigenetics, as Carey explains, is a broad topic. It demonstrates how nurture and nature can combine to successfully engineer biological diversity.

Carey discusses gene expression in a fetus, and how it can affect an individual for life. She discusses the connection between mother and fetus. And she talks about the passing of genetic information in the animal kingdom. Carey explains how they work with organisms in their study. She delves into a discussion of Darwinian evolution and how it relates to her area of study—epigenetics.

Continuing, she discusses chronic conditions that people suffer from, such as neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, etc. and why they take such a long time to develop. Carey is deeply involved with scientific studies and her work and writings in the field of epigenetics are truly must-reads for others in the field.