Epigenetics rules

Weismann Rules! OK? Epigenetics and the Lamarckian temptation

August Weismann rejected the inheritance of acquired characters on the grounds that changes to the soma cannot produce the kind of changes to the germ-plasm that would result in the altered character being transmitted to subsequent generations. His intended distinction, between germ-plasm and soma, was closer to the modern distinction between genotype and phenotype than to the modern distinctio...

Epigenetics

By the time the reader reaches Chapter 20, which focuses specifically on cancer, the mechanisms and symptoms of cancer are relatively easy to understand. Chapter 20 covers topics such as the cellular phenotypes of cancer, genes linked to cancer, and cancer treatment. While the primary literature citations at the end of the chapter will provide good starting points for the curious student, a mor...

Epigenetics

In this issue we focus on the topic of Epigenetics, the study of heritable phenotypic traits not encoded by the genetic sequence. While every cell in your body has a copy of your genetic code in the form of DNA, many of the unique features between different cell types and between different individuals arise from unique patterns of gene expression. In recent decades, it has become increasingly c...

Epigenetics

Emerging evidence is shedding light on a large and complex network of epigenetic modifications at play in human stem cells. This "epigenetic landscape" governs the fine-tuning and precision of gene expression programs that define the molecular basis of stem cell pluripotency, differentiation and reprogramming. This review will focus on recent progress in our understanding of the processes that ...

The Prospects of Epigenetics in Neuroscience