DNA methylation

Imagine your body is a book with many pages. Each page contains instructions that tell your body how to grow, function, and look. These instructions are called genes and they are written in a special code called DNA.

However, sometimes the instruction in the genes need to be changed based on what your body needs. For example, your eye color genes cannot change the color of your eyes from blue to brown overnight, but some genes can change how much of a specific protein your body makes depending on what your body needs. This is where DNA methylation comes in!

DNA methylation is like sticky notes that you can put on specific pages of your body's book. These sticky notes are made up of tiny molecules called "methyl groups" or "CH3" for short. When these methyl groups are added to a specific page in the book, they change the way the gene is read by your body by making it more difficult for the gene to be "turned on" and produce proteins.

This means that the instructions on that specific page of the book are "quieted" and the gene does not work as hard. Sometimes this is good for your body, like when genes that cause cancer or inflammation are silenced. Other times it can be bad, like when genes that help the immune system fight off infections are silenced, making it harder for your body to stay healthy.

So, DNA methylation is a way your body can control which instruction pages in its book are used depending on what your body needs. It is like putting sticky notes on certain pages to tell your body to pay more or less attention and is used to help your body stay healthy.