Why Are Epigenetics Is Important

“Epigenetics is defined as the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off”. To understand this concept, one will need to know about genetics. A cell is the smallest unit of life and is often times referred to as the building blocks of life. According to the cell theory, all living things are made up of cells. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is used in growth, development, functioning, and reproduction for all living things. DNA is made up of nucleotides, and the nucleotides contain a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar, and a nitrogenous base. There are four bases for DNA. They are Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T). The sequence of these bases determines DNA’s genetic code. According to Genetic Alliance, epigenome is a series of chemical tags that lie on top of your genes, and tell your body which genes to read and how often to read them. “Epigenetic's affects how genes are read by cells and how they produce proteins”. Epigenetic's are extremely important because it controls genes and it is what makes all of us unique. Have you ever seen a set of identical twins begin to look different as they grow older? That is because of epigenetics. Epigenes can be turned on and off, and it is reversible. Genes are permanent, but epigenes changes based on your lifestyle and

An example of a chemical that a lot of us consume daily is Bisphenol A (BPA). It is a compound used to make polycarbonate plastic and is found is many products including water bottles and tin cans. Research has found that BPA appears to reduce methylation of the agouti gene. They also found that including methyl-rich foods in your diet while pregnant will counteract the negative effects of exposure to BPA. Since a mother’s diet can affect a baby’s epigenome, what about the father’s? That is a question that scientists are trying to