Meeting the Ghosts in my DNA

Using family tree research to understand my epigenome

My thrifty Grandma Gaertner (from my aunt’s photo album).

When I was a kid and would visit my grandma, I was interested in why she had stacks of used margarine containers in a cupboard in the kitchen. I learned from my dad about how my grandma had lived through the Great Depression, and how she saved things that might be useful. I loved my grandma dearly, and I understood implicitly…