Epigenetics

As it turns out, there may be more to inheritance than just DNA sequence. Epigenetics also could play a role. Epigenetics can dictate which genes in an organism are turned on and off and because of this, an organism can have several changes in their gene expression without any changes to their actual DNA sequencing. This information can persist within an individual because the epigenetic markings get copied along with the DNA when cells reproduce. As evidence accumulates, it is speculated that epigenetics could have played a role in the dramatic increase of illness in recent time.
It is widely accepted that epigenetics are related to development and some illnesses, including cancer. What is in question is whether or not these epigenetic markings can be passed along for future generations, and if so, how far ahead? Many common pollutants have shown to make these epigenetic changes that lead to illnesses. The author discusses his experience in studying the effects of pollutants on rats. He conducted an experiment where pregnant rats were injected with some chemicals used often for farming. Originally, the study was done to see if the chemicals caused DNA mutations in the offspring, there were no intentions of studying epigenetics. Most of the male offspring ended up with abnormal testes, but
The resulting rats displayed similar problems with the development of their testes. He concluded that the exposure to these chemicals resulted in an epimutation that affected the development of testes. While the doses of chemicals given to the rats was not an accurate representation of the exposure a rat in the wild would receive, it is still frightening to think that so many animals are exposed to something that could be so detrimental. Other researchers attempted to recreate the study and ended with different results, according to Skinner this could have been because the experiment was not carried out