The decoding of the human genome in 2003 was a landmark in biological sciences. If the entirety of the genetic information of an organism was to be compared to a book, only the sequence of the individual letters would be known today. How words and sentences are formed and how these make up the story of life is mainly unexplained.

Today, genomic research places special emphasis on how genes coordinate their activities and maintain the day-to-day operations of a cell. Crucial to how these genes actually work is a complex interplay of active and silent DNA segments and various molecular switches that control the degree of DNA wrapping. All of these determine when and where genetic information is being transcribed. These regulating mechanisms are explored in epigenetics.

GEN-AU supports research work on genetic regulation systems on different levels. In a big joint project, research teams work on producing the epigenetic map of the mouse. Another big project devotes its work to the identification of the single gene functions. Further projects deal with the question of tissue ageing, the development of fat cells, the side effects of medication and the analysis of tissue samples of centuries-old Peruvian mummies.