“Each cell in your body has the same DNA, but they don’t all follow the same instructions. Some become blood cells; others become brain cells or muscle tissue. But if the DNA has a mistake or the cells turn on the wrong set of genes, that can lead to disease.

So how do cells decide which genes to turn on and which to turn off in different tissues? That’s the basis of epigenomics, chemical markers on the DNA and its packaging. Epigenomics is the focus of this week’s issue of the journal Nature, which includes a collection of papers from the Roadmap Epigenomics Program, a reference map of these modifications across a variety of human cells built by an international collaboration of scientists and researchers.” View more …