According to a new science, known as epigenetics, your ancestors’ diet, smoking habits, exposure to pollutants and levels of obesity could be affecting you right now. In turn, your lifestyle could affect your children and grandchildren.
The “epigenome,” a layer of biochemical processes that turn genes on and off plays an enormous role in heredity and health. Researchers believe that by mapping the epigenome, they can better predict and treat disease. The epigenome is passed from parents to children.
This changes according to the environment, and is one reason that “identical” twins can be so different. I know this to be true because I am an “identical” twin and although we looked identical when we were little, after moving many miles apart in adulthood our environments became very different and while I stayed fairly the same my twin changed in appearance ; and now we no longer look like “identical” twins.
So remember the more we learn about the human genome, the less DNA looks like destiny.