There’s a lot of emphasis on genome-wide association studies nowadays, but the genomic contribution to disease — or any other phenotype, really — is only about half the story. The problem is that GWAS provide a fairly straightforward measurement, while it’s a monumental task to figure out whether and how much a host of environmental factors contribute to a phenotype: there’s the questionable applicability of animal models, variable individual response, a truly massive number of potential daily exposures, and the technical difficulties of testing tissue samples for particular compounds. But epigenetics has the potential to change all that. Particular epigenetic changes might be able to serve as useful biomarkers that incorporate environmental effects, such as exposure to endocrine disruptors, or … Continue reading →