Genomic Truths: Women as Living Machines To understand the development of an animal from its genome, one must interact directly with a female of the species, allowing the natural processes to unfold. This notion underscores a provocative assertion that a female serves as the most effective means of translating genetic information into physical characteristics. The discussion of epigenetics reveals that despite every cell in a body sharing the same genetic blueprint, differences arise due to varying gene expressions in different cell types, a process dictated by epigenetic factors. Thus, epigenetics can be seen as a crucial element in embryological development, influencing how genes are activated or suppressed in various tissues. Transcript: Speaker 1 Nothing about it, the only way to really find out what that animal would develop as would be to put the genome into a female of the animal of the species concerned and let it develop. Speaker 2 Yeah, you actually have a very seditious sentence at some point early in the book, which I think you say is something like, forgive me for putting dangerous words into your mouth. Yes, I know the one you mean. But they were dangerous on the page. He said something like the best machine for translating a genotype into a phenotype that we know of is a woman or something like that. Speaker 1 Yes, that’s right. I could have said any female. Yes, right. Speaker 2 Well, perhaps we’ll return to that combustible topic. Yes. So what is meant by the word epigenetics and where does that concept come into play here? Speaker 1 EPIgenetics is I think a much misused word. It’s really just a word for embryology. The thing is that every cell in your body, every cell in our bodies has the same genome, the same diploid set of genes, and yet the cells are all different. So liver cells are different from kidney cells, different from muscle cells, and so on. And the reason is epigenetics. The reason is that some genes are turned on in liver cells and different genes are turned on in kidney cells, different genes (Time 0:10:11)
Epigenetics Unveiled: Understanding Gene Expression Epigenetics refers to the mechanisms that influence gene expression, explaining why cells with the same genetic material can differentiate into various cell types, such as liver, kidney, or muscle cells. Each cell type activates specific genes, leading to their unique functions and characteristics. Recently, it has been suggested that these gene activation patterns might be heritable, passing down to subsequent generations. However, the term epigenetics is often misapplied, creating confusion by associating it too broadly with inherited traits rather than accurately reflecting its relation to embryological development. Transcript: Speaker 2 Best machine for translating a genotype into a phenotype that we know of is a woman or something like that. Speaker 1 Yes, that’s right. I could have said any female. Yes, right. Speaker 2 Well, perhaps we’ll return to that combustible topic. Yes. So what is meant by the word epigenetics and where does that concept come into play here? Speaker 1 EPIgenetics is I think a much misused word. It’s really just a word for embryology. The thing is that every cell in your body, every cell in our bodies has the same genome, the same diploid set of genes, and yet the cells are all different. So liver cells are different from kidney cells, different from muscle cells, and so on. And the reason is epigenetics. The reason is that some genes are turned on in liver cells and different genes are turned on in kidney cells, different genes are turned on in nerve cells, and so on. That’s epigenetics. Now there has very recently been a suggestion that some of these turning on, turnings on, of genes can get passed on to the next generation. And this has been shown for a few cases. And the word epigenetics has come to be dubbed onto that process of passing on to the next generation. And that’s unfortunate because it’s become a kind of vogue word (Time 0:10:41)