Epigenetic
Epigenetics is a special field in medicine and biology. The term epigenetics (from Greek: epi = over) refers to molecular mechanisms by means of which our genes are read more strongly or more weakly. The specific cells of our organism thus control which and how many enzymes are produced for certain metabolic processes. Epigenetic mechanisms influence the cell, whereby the cell nucleus can regulate which genes can be switched on or off under the influence of external factors such as environmental influences.
![[Translate to English:] Grafik DNA](/fileadmin/user_upload/dna.jpg)
Epigenetic mechanisms thus influence the cell to react to changing environmental conditions, for example. This is not only the basis of our evolution as a whole, but also has enormous consequences on our genetic make-up, especially in today's constantly changing environment (e.g. due to climatic influences, hunger and malnutrition, oversupply of food for other population groups and associated metabolic changes, epidemics, increase in toxic substances, intoxicants). The epigenome can be dynamically altered by environmental and ecological conditions. Epigenetics is a tool to study, research and identify diseases caused by environmental influences.
