Yes: An epigenetic histone code may allow for unprecedented predictive power
The short answer is that a code takes us into a new dimension by addressing the possibility that environmental effects may be inherited from one cell generation to the next and possibly through the germ line. A histone-based epigenetic code would act in parallel with the genetic code and should offer comparable predictive power. The search for such a code is surely worth undertaking, but first we must establish what we are looking for, and where to look.
As a start, we might borrow from semiotics. As 40 million plus readers of a recent best seller are likely aware, semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or meaning. A semiotic system consists of a sign, its meaning (i.e., the outcome), and the code by which the sign brings that meaning into effect. In practice, one ...
