Last Friday, Daniel D. had the opportunity to give a talk to the school’s science society on epigenetics, inspired by a book called ‘The epigenetics revolution’ by Nessa Carey.
Epigenetics is the study of how genes are expressed. The core question behind epigenetics is, if every cell has identical DNA, what makes cells different? For example, why is a neuron different to a skin cell if they contain exactly the same genes? The answer lies in activating and inactivating certain genes through processes such as DNA methylation and histone modifications. These are both fancy terms for processes which affect which genes are switched off and which genes are switched on, which in turn, affects what a cell becomes.
From then Daniel talked about other epigenetic processes, for example, X inactivation. This is the process by which one of the X chromosomes in a female’s XX pair of chromosomes switches off very early in embryonic development. This means females only have one working X chromosome in all of their DNA containing cells. Daniel deftly discussed how the inactivation of the second X chromosome happens and why it is one of the greatest mysteries in epigenetics.
From here, he moved into the real-world applications of epigenetics, in particular how it is being used as a treatment for cancer, and the hopes borne by the scientific community of finding other epigenetics treatments for cancer in the future.
Despite epigenetics not being known about by most people, it is one of the fastest growing fields of science. Epigenetics is just as important as genetics, and without it, there could be no complex life on Earth. Key processes and applications of epigenetics are being discovered all the time, making it an exciting and fascinating field of study.
