Epigenetics

The small genetic quirk that could help us fight biodiversity loss

The numbers are in, and it’s official: we are losing the fight to save the many endangered species on our planet. Despite a growing number of global voices highlighting the importance of preserving biodiversity to worldwide human health and food security, the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 estimated we’ve lost 69% of monitored wildlife populations,

The Fault in Our Epigenome: The science behind aging

From the Yoruba tradition of throwing cowrie shells, to the Roma fortune tellers peering at palms, people throughout history have wondered if there was some sort of physical or external way to map out the path of our lives. Modern day scientists are still pondering how to predict the future, but instead of looking up

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest (or youngest) of them all?

Have you ever been scared of grey hair, skin wrinkles, baldness, or even worse, dementia? Voltaire once remarked, “What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy”. Nothing is as unnerving as the fact that we all have limited time on this beautiful planet. For centuries, humans

Genetic Memories: How Diet And Stress Can Affect Your Epigenome

Are we a product of our environment or bound to a predetermined fate dictated by our genes? To answer the age old nature versus nurture dilemma, both. It is widely known that the environment can alter our DNA sequence through genetic mutations as a consequence of external factors such as toxins and carcinogens. However, our

Maternal Effects: Genes are not all you mother gives you

Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, is credited with discovering the basic principles of genetics in the 1860s and known as the father of genetics. According to his results, the two parents contribute one set of genes each, which forms the genotype (genetic makeup) of the child. The genotype expresses itself in the physical characteristics (called

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