Guts, Genes, and Generations: Exploring Stress in the Microbiome

If you’ve ever met a set of identical twins, your initial impressions are likely about their similarities. Their height, facial features, and sometimes their mannerisms look like a reflection of the other. Visual similarities in identical twins can be traced back to genetics. When two people share the exact same set of DNA, their genes encode the same physical characteristics. But take a closer look, and you might notice that twins are not exactly the same. For example, their weight and skin texture may be different. One might develop a disease like cancer that the other never will. This discrepancy can be explained by environmental factors. Environment plays a huge role in shaping a person’s life. It can even affect how somebody’s genes work without ever changing their DNA (Peixoto et. al 2020). The study of the environment’s effect on genes is called epigenetics. Epigenetic changes can be passed down from parent to child (Geraghty et. al 2016).

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