Secret to Epigenetic Inheritance Discovered

Biologists at Indiana University have recently discovered how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance, where the cell gains genetic information form its environment that wasn't previously in its genetic code, without the cell "silencing" these new genes as they do with other mutations. Rather than rely on intrinsic, DNA sequence-based information, the cells instead must recall the need to silence specific genes by relying on chemical marks displayed on the chromatin.

Scientists are interested in epigenetic inheritance because it's a process by which heritable modifications occur in gene function without changes in the base sequence of an organism's DNA being required. Cancer is also believed to have an epiginetic basis, and further research could yield important insights into how cancer is formed.

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Science is collaborative-A team of twelve scientists worked together to discover this
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140320131137.htm