Two new scientific articles help explain how DNA, which makes up our genes, and the environment work together to express those genes. It was thought that humans had over 3 million genes, but now estimate that it closer to 300,000 genes. Microbes which live in humans and in plants supply the majority of the genes that control many life functions. Scientist are finding that the genes humans and plants obtain from their parents or “heredity is nothing more than stored environment” according to Luther Burbank. Farmers can see this relationship when they plant the same seed in different fields with different soil types, and the crop expresses itself differently. This effect is compounded as multiple generations are grown in different environments. This same process expresses itself in the organisms we call ‘diseases’ or ‘pests.’ Sometimes a disease organism is not really a pest if it is in a healthy soil environment. The soil environment often determines which genes are expressed. For...