They hypothesise that epigenetic effects may be so dramatic that merely altering these imprints can create a new species.

ECONOMIST: Genes are not all there is to heredity

This, some researchers hypothesise, might be encouraged by children inheriting epigenetic patterns appropriate to the diets of their parents but inappropriate to the different, more calorific diets those children are enjoying thanks to the abundance of modern life.

ECONOMIST: Genomics has not yet delivered the drugs, but it will