You may have seen the reel we included here, where Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong was talking about a gene called p53, the one that helps protect your cells from cancer.

They’re right that viruses like COVID or HPV can affect it, but that’s only part of the story. Here’s what most people miss: your DNA can’t do anything on its own. It’s a library full of books, and something in your environment has to pull one off the shelf before it can express.

That “something” is epigenetics, the way your physical, chemical, and emotional stresses tell your genes what to do. According to the Human Genome Project, only 2% of disease comes from actual genetic flaws. The rest comes from “the books” we choose to read.

So instead of asking, “What books are in my library?” Ask, “What’s making me pull one off the shelf?” Watch this breakdown to see what the p53 debate gets right, what it misses, and why your environment matters far more than your DNA. If you’ve got questions about how stress, viruses, or environment affect your health, drop them in the comments below and I’ll tackle them in a future video.