Epigenics

Charles Darwin was the first to draw the "tree of life", showing that all life comes from the same source. Plants, humans and bacteria are all related. When he wrote "Origin of the Species" there was a subtitle he later removed. It read: "Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life". Darwin's writings on natural selection became a platform for race biology, social Darwinism, Nazism and eugenics.

The logo for the second congress of eugenics in 1921 depicted a great oak as a symbol of the various sciences as roots converging into a strong trunk for humanity. The doctrine of eugenics is contradicted by new research on what is called epigenetics. "Epi" means "on top of" and refers to something that sits outside the genes. Epigenetics has shown that genetic expression can be changed, for example, by what we eat or what we experience. This means that our genes are changeable — that both heredity and environment are programmable. This research contradicts the old notions that racists, sexists and biologists have held about the unchanging nature of genes.

We are who we are based on what we have inherited, experienced, eaten or felt — and if we see something within ourselves we want to change, we can. Other people can change. Change over time is the core of our existence. All cells and minds are plastic; every trait can be changed. No situation is too hopeless and no group is static. We are a miracle of living cells working together like sparkling pearls of intelligent love.