Science in the Pub: Epigenetics in Evolution

As we know, DNA is the hereditary material. We also know that DNA sequences make evolution possible because genes strongly influence the way organisms survive and reproduce. Well, over the last few decades geneticists have been learning that there are at least three ‘epigenetic’ mechanisms by which heritable information can be transmitted from parent to offspring. These mechanisms supplement the information that is coded in DNA by influencing gene expression in offspring.

Please join Ben from the University of Sydney to discuss the importance of epigenetics to evolution. Drawing on fun examples from yeast to humans, Ben will describe the paradigm shift that is currently going on in evolutionary biology!