Plasticity: How Experience Shapes Traits and Generations

How much does the environment matter to development? In this talk, Dr. Alvarado gives us a rundown on the history of evolutionary and molecular biology and how the discovery of epigenetics changed everything. It turns out that the environment does not just interact with our genomes, it also changes the way our genes behave. Using his work with African cichlids, a type of fish which can change its color, Dr. Alvarado explains mechanisms by which the environment can get under our skin and change gene behavior. Educators and parents will find food for thought in understanding mechanisms by which the environments we create can impact our young people.

Dr. Alvarado is an assistant professor of biology at City University of New York (CUNY) Queen’s College. In his lab, he investigates the genome’s response to natural changes in the environment. Dr. Alvarado is also the author of The Science of Marvel: The Real Science of the MCU Revealed