genomics
Meaning of genomics: This scientific field studies an organism's entire genetic material as a system, including how genes are organized, regulated, and interact with one another.
Definition of genomics
Genomics is the scientific study of an organism's complete set of genetic material, called its genome, including all of its genes as well as the large stretches of DNA that do not code for genes directly.
Genomics examines how genes are organized, how they are regulated, and how they interact with one another and with the environment to influence traits, development, and disease, distinguishing it from genetics, which traditionally focuses on the inheritance and function of individual genes.
Advances in technology that allow an entire genome to be read quickly and at lower cost have expanded genomics into many areas of medicine, including identifying inherited disease risk, guiding certain cancer treatments based on a tumor's specific genetic changes, and studying how genetic variation contributes to common diseases.
Used in a sentence
Genomics testing identified a specific mutation guiding the patient's treatment plan.
Good to know
Genomics is distinguished from genetics by its focus on the entire genome and the interaction of many genes together, rather than on the inheritance pattern of a single gene.
Word origin
Where “genomics” comes from
Genomics is built on genome, a term formed by combining gene, from Greek genos, meaning birth or race, with the ending of chromosome.