studies the causal interactions between genes and their products which
bring the phenotype into being
study of changes in gene function that are mitocially/meitoicaly
heritable and that do not entail a change in the sequence of DNA
research into large scale events which have affected whole populations,
have allowed scientists to identify a corrolation between negative
environmental factors in one generation leading to disease in their
offspring, suggesting a possibility of heritable epigenetic changes.
For
example, the Dutch Hunger Winter.
Dutch Hunger Winter (1944)
The Dutch Hunger Winter is the name given to the blockade of food from
September 1944 - May 1945 in Austria. It is well documented and therefore
represents a large research cohort. Scientists looking over patient
records have discovered a link between women who were pregnant during, or
after the blockade, and the health of their offspring. Not only their
children, but also their grandchildren seemed to have a higher instance of
disease, including: