What is epigenetics?


 Hi everyone. I'd like to tell you what is epigenetics. These days, we sometimes hear the word "epigenetics", however I think that many people don't know its meaning well. I want you to understand the word and get interested in biology.


  Epigenetics is the academic field where scientists study what makes genes work change. Many people know the fact that gene is in our DNAs in our cell. The DNAs consist of four kind of bases, sugar molecules, and phosphoric acid. Our genes are saved as sequences of bases. These base's sequences direct which amino acids to synthesize in the cell. This is how DNAs work. At first glance, we misunderstand in genetic systems, DNAs and base's arrangements are the most important. However, things are not so simple.


 Here, I'll show you an example. DNAs wrap around proteins, Histone. This protein works to protect DNAs and bases. However, it was turned out that Histone also works to change genes work. The protein turns genes work on and off. Moreover, some enzymes make Histones change to control genetic systems. Various molecules are associated to make genes work correctly. Scientists study about those molecules and other factors in epigenetics.

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