It isn’t that genes don’t matter—they certainly do—only that they cannot dictate even the simplest behaviors, let alone account for most illnesses or address possible cures for them. Far from being the autonomous arbiters of our destinies, genes answer to their environment; without environmental signals, they could not function. In fact, life for us would be impossible if not for the epigenetic mechanisms that “turn” genes “on” or “off” in response to signals from within and from outside the body.[*]
