Epigenetics Proves Humans and Chimps Are Different by Jeffrey
Tomkins, Ph.D. * One of the rapidly expanding and exciting
research fields in molecular biology is the area of epigenetics.
In the study of epigenetic modifications, scientists analyze DNA
that has been modified in such a way that its chemistry is
changed, but not the actual base pairs that make up the genetic
code of the sequence. It’s like a separate control code and
system imposed upon and within the standard code of DNA
sequence. There are two general ways in which the DNA of an
organism can be modified chemically. First, methyl groups can be
added to DNA base molecules. Second, proteins called histones
that integrate with the DNA can also be modified in different
ways. Both of these types of DNA modification determine how
accessible the DNA is to proteins that bind to the DNA and
control and help regulate gene activity. Epigenetic DNA
modification is highly controlled in the genome and plays a
major role in the way that many different types of