L’epigenetica: una disciplina che smonta i preconcetti del determinismo genetico

Abstract

Evolutionary theories have left their mark on society, often resulting in simplified, misleading, and ideological visions. Among the most common interpretations of evolution is that which attributes to genes the teleological role of directly determining hereditary traits (genotype = phenotype). Epigenetics, which studies the mechanisms controlling gene expression, has highlighted the existence of non-genetic information that regulates gene expression. The environment is a crucial element in the mechanisms controlling where, when, and how genes are expressed. In practice, the instructions contained in genes are considered necessary but not sufficient to encode the phenotype. In other words, we are not simple puppets of our genes, but rather the result of a complex interaction between biology, environment, and culture.