Title
Epigenetics in Society
Files
Download EPUB (9.2 MB)
Description
Would you take a potentially life-saving drug if you knew that your children and grandchildren might suffer the side effects?
Would you change your lifestyle if it meant you could reverse disadvantages built into your genes?
Would you be comfortable if corporations could infer intimate details about your life history without asking?
What if that data could improve your quality of life?
Epigenetics - our epigenome - controls how our genes behave without altering their sequence. Just about everything affects it, from nutrition, drugs, and toxins to child rearing, culture, and society. Many diseases, from obesity to addiction to cancer, can be linked to epigenetic modifications. Furthermore, throughout development and life, from conception to death, the exposures you have will not only affect your own epigenome, but potentially also your child’s, and your grandchild’s. This rapidly expanding field of biological, physiological, sociological, and psychological research could be key to discovering why, and more importantly how, we are the way we are.
Epigenetics has consequences for medicine, pregnancy, childcare, law and how we live on an everyday basis. This book will provide a comprehensive introduction to the mechanisms and real-life consequences of epigenetics, and will arm the reader with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about the future of epigenetics in modern society. This is a call for serious consideration about the effects of epigenetics on society.
Epigenetics has been independently peer-reviewed for accuracy by international experts. It is written by students of diverse disciplines, and intended for students and educated lay people.
ISBN
9780920233726
Publication Date
2015
Publisher
University of Windsor
City
Windsor, Ontario
Keywords
epigenetics, epigenetics in society, developmental epigentics, embryo, development, heredity, diet, cancer, law, ethics, drugs, pollutants, social justice, environmental justice, generational justice
Disciplines
Biology | Cell and Developmental Biology | Law | Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Policy | Sociology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Group, Epigenetics Study; Chaker, Lina; Diemer, Kendall; Doci, Florida; Foreman, Curtis; Gosselin, Natalie; Hebert, Jessica; Hegazi, Aaron; Hetzel, Roni; Market, Marisa; Pfaff, Jake; Scott, Kaela; Spencer, Candace; Timperio, Nadia; Tobin, Kaylyn; Venney, Clare; Woghiren, Melissa; Zakaria, Sandy; and Crawford, Michael J., "Epigenetics in Society" (2015). Emerging Scholars Press. 1.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/emergingscholarspress/1
Comments
This book arose as a collaboration among students of disciplines as diverse as biological sciences, literature, political science, psychology, and computer under the name the Epigenetics Study Group. Individual student authors are listed here.
This work was directed and edited by Dr. Michael Crawford from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Windsor. Any inquires about this book can be directed to him at (mcrawfo@uwindsor.ca)