epigenetics

[ep-i-juh-net-iks]

noun (used with a singular verb)

Genetics. the study of the process by which genetic information is translated into the substance and behavior of an organism: specifically, the study of the way in which the expression of heritable traits is modified by environmental influences or other mechanisms without a change to the DNA sequence.

Origin of epigenetics

1942; coined by Conrad H. Waddington, 1905–75, British biologist; blend of epigenesis and genetics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for epigenetics

Contemporary Examples of epigenetics

This process, known as epigenetics, involves the addition of small chemical tags known as methyl groups to the DNA double helix.
How Famines Make Future Generations Fat
Carrie Arnold
May 11, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for epigenetics

epigenetics

noun (functioning as sing)

the study of heritable changes that occur without a change in the DNA sequence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012