Opening access to genes and environment research - On Biology

"Genotype is only a part of an organism’s overall being. Environmental factors can be a significant contributor to phenotype, as demonstrated by differences observed in identical twins. Diseases such as skin cancer from overexposure to ultraviolet light also show the impact that the environment can have on our gene expression. Covering the area of environmental mutagens, Genes and Environment, the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society, has published its first articles today with BioMed Central ... The journal publishes articles across a broad range of topics including environmental mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, environmental genomics and epigenetics, molecular epidemiology, genetic toxicology and regulatory sciences.  One of the above areas that I find particularly fascinating is epigenetics: the study of heritable changes affecting gene expression without changing the genetic sequence. This can involve external factors that cause chemical changes to occur in our genomes, such as environmental mutagens.  It is well known that radiation and certain chemicals can cause genetic mutations that lead to cancer, aging etc. These mutations often change the genetic sequence and consequently modify gene expression, such as by deactivating a tumor suppressor gene, leading to uncontrolled cell division ..."