Perceptions of epigenetics

Bird, Adrian

¹Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Edinburgh University, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK.

doi:10.1038/nature05913

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Nature 447(7143):p 396-398, May 24, 2007. | DOI: 10.1038/nature05913

Geneticists study the gene; however, for epigeneticists, there is no obvious 'epigene'. Nevertheless, during the past year, more than 2,500 articles, numerous scientific meetings and a new journal were devoted to the subject of epigenetics. It encompasses some of the most exciting contemporary biology and is portrayed by the popular press as a revolutionary new science - an antidote to the idea that we are hard-wired by our genes. So what is epigenetics?