Feature
Beyond the gene
A project is bringing together researchers from the
humanities and the sciences to examine a potentially world-changing new area of
study.
Genetics holds a special place in the popular
imagination. Even for those with only a passing acquaintance with the
intricacies of DNA, the gene has become an integral part of public discourse on
issues of identity and inheritance, fuelling fierce debates over racial and
gender determinism, and promising medical breakthroughs.
What is epigenetics?
Epigenetics literally means ‘above the genome’.
Professor Karen Temple uses a neat analogy to explain the difference between
epigenetics and genetic study: “When you want to fill a room with light, you
look at your lightbulb and check that it’s working – that is analogous to doing
genetic study to look at whether the DNA is formed directly. But in turning the
light on, you also have to have the switch on. Effectively, epigenetics is the
switching mechanism, and whether the wires are right, whether the actual switch
is pressed on or not.”
So what happens when a relatively new scientific field
threatens to force a rethink of this genetic paradigm that has dominated
twentieth century thinking? This is the focus of Southampton University’s recent
cross-disciplinary project. Funded by an exploratory grant from the AHRC, Beyond
the Gene brings together researchers from the humanities and the sciences to
examine the cultural and social implications of a potentially world-changing
science: epigenetics.
On a simple level, epigenetics is the study of
biological processes that can switch genes on and off, producing changes in gene
activity without altering the DNA structure. Some of these changes may even be
passed through generations. If we’ve become used to thinking of our genes as a
fixed blueprint, epigenetics shows that the process of human development is in
fact more dynamic – and more open to environmental influences.
“Epigenetics makes it all so interesting, biologically
speaking, because it means that the environment in which you’re growing up might
be just as important as the genes that you’ve got,” explains research team
member Professor Karen Temple, Professor of Medical Genetics and clinician.
Research has uncovered epigenetic causes of certain rare diseases, and as
technology develops, epigenetics may well come to explain more common
conditions, including some cancers.
Professor Clare
Hanson
Through workshops, discussion groups and public events,
Beyond the Gene allows participants from a wide range of disciplines, academic
methodologies and backgrounds to share their work and perspectives on this new
science. What has emerged so far is that the cultural implications are
considerable. “There’s a massive story here in terms of the implications of
unraveling the notion of the power of genetic inheritance,” says Professor Clare
Hanson, Principal Investigator on Beyond the Gene and member of Southampton’s
Humanities faculty. “What are families bound by, if there are looser biological
family ties?”
Looking at recent adoption memoirs by writers including
Jackie Kay, AM Holmes and Jeanette Winterson as part of the project, Hanson has
already found indications of a cultural shift away from the dominance of the
gene. “Writers are picking up on the altering of the angle of vision, the focus
on environment and the attenuating of the explanatory power of the gene,” argues
Hanson. “So it’s a much more diffused, complex and holistic picture of how we
come to be who we are.” Indeed, Jeanette Winterson was a speaker at a public
event organised by the project, as well as noted scientist and professor of
science Evelyn Fox-Keller.
In terms of the potential social impact, an important
theme is the role of the environment in human development. “One of the key
things we are talking about is that epigenetics takes you away from the emphasis
on the individual, which is so characteristic of the focus on the gene, and it
draws attention to the power of the environment that we collectively make,
affecting the health, development and qualities of future generations,” says
Hanson.
Given the potential social and cultural ramifications
of epigenetics, managing public understanding is of great importance. The Beyond
the Gene project looks at how scientists and those in the humanities can work
together to avoid media misunderstandings and hysterical headlines. “I think
epigenetics may be very important in deciding issues such as cancer risk,
chronic disease risk and obesity. It could be something that really does get
taken up by the public, but you want this to happen in a sensible way, rather
than as something too simplistic,” says Temple. “Scientists who are trying to
explain their work have got a huge amount to learn from the humanities.”
Bringing together academics and artists from such
different disciplines is not without challenges. “The main problem is one of
vocabulary. What do we understand when we say things to each other and how do we
open up what is meant?” points out poet and artist Allen Fisher, who contributed
a paper to one of the project’s workshops. Fisher, who has a longstanding
interest in science, explains that when it comes to presenting their work, many
of the scientists he encounters are naturally more interested in data and
communication than in aesthetic judgment.
Promoting intellectual exchange and mutual
understanding is key: “The artists need to understand what is meant by
epigenetics, what is beyond the gene, and reciprocally, the scientists need to
understand that data and communication isn’t all they can use as their process,”
says Fisher. One of the main strands of the project involves looking at the ways
in which humanities can contribute to creating new metaphors to aid public
understanding of scientific advances. “What unites people in science and the
humanities is that we’re interested in metaphors and narratives,” says Hanson.
“There are lots of narratives and metaphors in science – it’s the easy way to
paint the picture.”
Temple is keen to point out epigenetic studies do not
imply the gene is redundant. “The gene really does matter. It is a code that
starts the process off,” she says. “But we have this image of the gene of being
the master controller, and it’s not like that; it’s one little component in the
whole process.” Just how much epigenetics will ultimately contribute to medicine
and society will depend on advances in technology. However, Temple predicts:
“Epigenetics is here to stay.”
Article by Hannah Davies
Date: 09/09/2013
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