Epigenetics is the study of the hereditary changes in the phenotype. Phenotypes affect what you look like. Each cell has chemical tags (methyl tags) that change the structure of the gene. Methyl tags can turn on or off active or inactive genes. For example in bees, while a bee is a larva methyl tags go to a worker bee and turns it into a queen bee with special abilities such as mating. Epigenetics is also associated with diet. Environmental stimulus and diet affect your children and future generations. Pregnant mothers who were living in New York during 9/11 and had post traumatic stress had children with less tolerance for stressful situations. Angelmen syndrome and protobilli syndrome are two completely different diseases but they are both caused by a missing gene. What is amazing it is like the gene has a memory, if you inherit it from your mother you get angelmen and if you inherit from your father you get protobilli. Stress, diet, smoking, drugs all affect your children and grandchildren. For example, cocaine addicted mice pass on memory problems to their children. Curing Alzheimer's, cancer, multiple sclerosis, mental disorders may be done by using and removing methyl tags on cells.
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