★A 2023 new work by Benjamin Oldroyd, the renowned evolutionary biologist, Emeritus Professor of Behavioural Genetics, and the winner of the Australian Ecology and Evolution Leadership Award!
★Beyond DNA is a journey through uncharted territory, advancing new ways of thinking about evolution and adaptation! This easy-to-read popular science book will tell the new story of genomic imprinting and biological evolution through inspiring research cases and everyday examples.
★With plenty of illustrations and graphical representation throughout the book, it explains the mechanisms of epigenetics succinctly and clearly, reveals the evolutionary code of behavioral genetics and social behavior, and explores new solutions to difficult problems related to human health and future possibility.

For nearly a hundred years evolutionary biologists have understood that evolution proceeds by substituting better genes for less good ones. But consensus is growing that this is not the whole story: geneticists are now revealing that spores, sperm, pollen and ova are packed with personalised genetic information that plays an important role in offspring development and has lifelong effects. This epigenetic - or 'extra-genetic ' -inheritance therefore makes significant contributions to evolutionary processes. In this highly accessible book, packed with instructive examples, Benjamin Oldroyd explains how a greater appreciation of the role of epigenetics is helping to solve a multitude of previously intractable problems in evolutionary biology - puzzles as varied as why invasive plants and animals can rapidly adapt to changes in their environment, how worker bees and queen bees can develop from the same egg, and why cancer becomes more common as we age. Beyond DNA concisely explains the mechanisms that underlie epigenetics, shows how epigenetic processes can lead to adaptation, and speculates on meaty issues such as the role that epigenetics plays in human health and happiness.

Benjamin Oldroyd
Benjamin Oldroyd is Emeritus Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the University of Sydney. In 2020 Oldroyd was a resident fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Berlin, from where he edited a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London on epigenetics and evolution and wrote this book.
Ben has made important contributions to our understanding of the biology of Asian honey bees and Cape bees. His book Asian Honey Bees: Biology, Conservation and Human Interactions (Harvard University Press) is the authoritative text on the subject. Ben Oldroyd is an experimental scientist that has authored over 300 scientific papers on honey bees and stingless bees and his papers have been cited over 15,000 times.
Ben is also currently Chair of the Honey Bee and Pollination advisory Committee of Agrifutures. He has undertaken numerous AgriFutures Australia projects and built Australia’s honey bee research capacity through the large number of students and young researchers he has mentored. Ben was awarded the Goodacre Memorial Award in 2018 in recognition of his service to the Australian beekeeping industry.
Ben was also awarded the NSW Science and Engineering award in Biology in 2014. And in 2023, Research.com award him 'Ecology and Evolution in Australia Leader Award'.