Epigenetics is Here to Stay

Marcel Mannens 

Department of Clinical Genetics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

* Correspondence: Marcel Mannens

Academic Editors: Stéphane Viville and Marcel Mannens

Special Issue: Epigenetic Mechanisms in Health and Disease

Received: April 24, 2019 | Accepted: April 24, 2019 | Published: April 30, 2019

OBM Genetics 2019, Volume 3, Issue 2 doi:10.21926/obm.genet.1902075

Recommended citation: Mannens M. Epigenetics is Here to Stay. OBM Genetics 2019; 3(2): 075; doi:10.21926/obm.genet.1902075.

© 2019 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.

The number of publications on epigenetic topics is exploding! Indeed, also this special issue of OBM Genetics contains the largest number of contributions of all special issues OBM Genetics is currently hosting. Epigenetics is here to stay. The field of epigenetic research is extremely broad, ranging from health and disease, environmental influences, development, disease prognosis, behaviour, molecular mechanisms, genomic imprinting, reproduction, diagnostics, aging and so forth. To better study the epigenome, we need tools that are evolving. This special issue reflects this broad range of topics.

The authors of this issue on epigenetic mechanisms in health and disease can be proud of their achievement. Although OBM Genetics is a relatively new scientific journal, it has shown that it can host a substantial number of scientific contributions of well-known scientist in the field of epigenetics. Not only is this promising for the journal but it is also for the scientists who can quickly publish open access after a thorough peer review. I was impressed with the quality and speed of the reviewers. If the journal can maintain this quality, we might be looking at a new platform to share our findings and ideas on epigenetic topics and may be able to find each other more easily. There is a great need for high quality and approachable journals in this field of epigenetics with its numerous science projects and expanding number of diagnostic tests. Both authors and reviewers have made me confident that there is a need and willingness to make this journal a platform for epigenetics. Let’s hope for the best!