Introducing Epigenetics

Epigenetics is the most exciting field in biology today, developing our understanding of how and why we inherit certain traits, develop diseases and age, and evolve as a species.   This non-fiction comic book introduces us to genetics, cell biology and the fascinating science of epigenetics, which is rapidly filling in the gaps in our knowledge, allowing us to make huge advances in medicine. We'll look at what identical twins can teach us about the epigenetic effects of our environment and experiences, why certain genes are 'switched on' or off at various stages of embryonic development, and how scientists have reversed the specialization of cells to clone frogs from a single gut cell.   In Introducing Epigenetics, Cath Ennis and Oliver Pugh pull apart the double helix, examining how the epigenetic building blocks and messengers that interpret and edit our genes help to make us, well, us.

Cath Ennis has a research background in genetics, genomics and cancer, and works as a grant writer and project manager in Vancouver, Canada. She writes about epigenetics and other topics for The Guardian, has co-written a textbook on stem cell science, and can be found online at www.enniscath.com. Oliver Pugh is a designer and the illustrator of Introducing Infinity and Introducing Particle Physics.