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This overview clarifies misconceptions in epigenetics and its impact on gene regulation and inheritance.
Epigenetics is a scientific field whose definition has changed over time. Established in the 1940s by C.H. Waddington by synthesis from embryology and genetics, the term “epigenetics” is now mainly used to describe the role of chromatin modifications in the regulation and perpetuation of gene activity states. The major contributors to this development were D.L. Nanney (1958), J.B. Gurdon (1962), R. Holliday (1975), A.D. Riggs (1975), R.D. Kornberg (1987), and C.D. Allis (1966). The contributions were made by associative thinking, speculative hypotheses, and groundbreaking experiments. Modern epigenetics has rapidly expanded during the past 25 years, but the claim that an epigenetics revolution is rewriting our understanding of genetics, disease, and inheritance is based on widespread misconceptions.
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Bernhard Horsthemke (2026) studied this question.
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