Aside from the basics and generic marvels
of modern invention (roof over my head, car, cell phones, internet,
elevators, dishwashers, tampons, etc, etc), in my own life and particular circumstances I'm especially grateful for my Ergo
baby carrier, very involved and very good Grandparents on both sides, a very involved and very amazing husband, and the luxury
of eating
out more often than I should.
Call it postnatal inheritance: With no changes to their genetic code, the
baby rats nonetheless gained genetic attachments due solely to their upbringing — epigenetic additions
of methyl groups sticking like umbrellas
out the
elevator doors
of their histones, gumming up the works and altering the function
of the brain.