It's not nature versus nurture — it's nature, nurture and timing

Why do people who carry similar genetic risks end up with very different health? Research highlighted at the American Society of Human Genetics' 2026 annual meeting points to a missing piece: timing. By combining genetic information with detailed measurements of everyday exposures — diet, pollution, and chemicals found in plastics and cosmetics — and the molecular changes they leave in the body, scientists are tracing how health risks build across a lifetime. They found that environmental influences grow more important with age for things like blood pressure and lung function, and that the same chemical can switch genes in blood-vessel cells on or off differently from person to person, depending on their genes. Knowing when an exposure matters most could help doctors aim prevention at the stage of life where it does the most good.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being