Fig. 1

Bridging bioengineering and epigenetics: From technical innovations to fundamental understanding. The figure illustrates how epigenetic bioengineering has advanced our understanding of mechanisms underlying epigenetic gene regulation in human cells. By integrating high-throughput sequencing with high-resolution microscopy, multiple regulatory levels can now be analyzed, including DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, transcription factor modifications and their availability, cis-regulatory elements, chromatin loops, topologically associated domains, histone modifications, nucleosomal compaction, 3D chromatin structures and nuclear organization. Despite these advancements, the dynamics and functional interactions between these levels remain only partially understood. Additionally, findings at one technological level may not always align with findings at another, highlighting the need for open-minded exploration and improved conceptual frameworks. The reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, showing a figure with extended arms and legs, symbolizes this transition from conceptual understanding to the dynamic interplay of functional processes.