Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that occur without a change in DNA sequence. Cancer is a multistep process derived from combinational crosstalk between genetic alterations and epigenetic influences through various environmental factors. The observation that epigenetic changes are reversible makes them an attractive target for cancer prevention. Until recently, t...

Epigenetics has recently evolved from a collection of diverse phenomena to a defined and far-reaching field of study. In this Essay, we examine the epistemology of epigenetics, provide a brief overview of underlying molecular mechanisms, and suggest future challenges for the field.

Epigenetics studies factors related to the organism and environment that modulate inheritance from generation to generation. Molecular epigenetics examines non-coding DNA (ncdDNA) vs. coding DNA (cdDNA), and pertains to every domain of physiology, including immune and brain function. Molecular cartography, including genomics, proteomics, and interactomics, seeks to recognize and to identify the...

The revellers depicted in the painting by the Dutch artist Judith Leyster (1609–60) (Figure 1) will not have given epigenetics a passing thought. Little were they to know that indulgences, such as drinking alcohol and smoking, would be contributing to their ‘exposome’ and marking their epigenome to potentially compromise their future health. The skeleton proffering an hourglass is perhaps a por...

Epigenetics is one of the most rapidly expanding fields in the life sciences. Its rise is frequently framed as a revolutionary turn that heralds a new epoch both for gene-based epistemology and for the wider discourse on life that pervades knowledge-intensive societies of the molecular age. The fundamentals of this revolution remain however to be scrutinized, and indeed the very contours of wha...

January-February 2016 Recent findings in epigenetics have been attracting much attention from social scientists and bioethicists because they reveal the molecular mechanisms by which exposure to socioenvironmental factors, such as pollutants and social injustice, can influence the expression of genes throughout life. This epigenetic programming that happens during embryogenesis, fetal developme...

Mitochondria, intracellular organelles with their own genome, have been shown capable of interacting with epigenetic mechanisms in at least four different ways. First, epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the expression of nuclear genome influence mitochondria by modulating the expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. Second, a cell-specific mitochondrial DNA content (copy number) and ...

Epigenetics is a colossal subject and beyond the scope of being covered in single issue. It provides constructive regulatory regime over information possessed within genome. Alterations lead to various diseased outcome. In this special thematic issue “Epigenetics Chromatin Dynamics: Role health disease”, we have emphasized some aspects that will help our understanding about how epigenetic regul...