Genetics and Molecular Medicine Terms
Inherited variation, genomics, molecular markers, and targeted molecular care. Browse definitions and meanings below.
What is genetics in medicine?
Genetics in a clinical setting is the study of how inherited instructions contribute to health and disease. It covers conditions caused by a single altered gene, the far commoner conditions where many genes each add a little risk, and the changes a tumor acquires during a person's life.
One distinction underlies most of the confusion here. An inherited change is present in every cell from conception and can pass to a child. An acquired change appears in one line of cells later on and cannot. Both are called mutations, and only one carries implications for the rest of a family.
Terms in this topic
Alphabetical order-
A substance being studied in the treatment of breast cancers caused by mutations (changes) in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
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A genetic condition in which tumors form on the nerves of the inner ear and cause loss of hearing and balance.
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A single small molecule doing two unrelated jobs: storing information in DNA and shuttling energy as part of ATP.
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Cells hold only a tiny standing amount and recycle it endlessly, so adenosine triphosphate works as a currency rather than as a store of energy.
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An inherited disorder marked by rapid aging that begins in early adolescence.
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A substance being studied in the treatment of breast cancers caused by mutations (changes) in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
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Pigment is only half the story, since the same genes shape the retina and the optic nerves, so eyesight is always involved.
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The shorter name for a rare inherited triad, still turning up in older records long after the fuller version became standard.
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A procedure in which a person receives stem cells (cells from which all blood cells develop) from a genetically similar, but not identical, donor.
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A substance that is being studied as a gene therapy agent in the treatment of cancer.
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A type of anticancer drug that blocks cell growth by interfering with DNA, the genetic material in cells.
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A type of anticancer drug that blocks cell growth by interfering with DNA, the genetic material in cells.
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A type of gene that makes a protein called a tumor suppressor protein that helps control cell growth.
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Small pieces of DNA or RNA that can bind to specific molecules of RNA.
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A short synthetic strand designed to pair with one chosen message inside a cell and either destroy it or reroute it.
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A type of anticancer drug that blocks cell growth by interfering with DNA, the genetic material in cells.
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A rare, inherited, progressive, degenerative disease of childhood that causes loss of muscle control, a weakened immune system, and an increased risk of cancer.
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A type of laboratory mouse that is hairless, lacks a normal thymus gland, and has a defective immune system because of a genetic mutation.
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Three letters for the busiest molecule in biology, though in a report on an implanted heart device the same abbreviation means something else entirely.
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Autologous describes tissue, cells, or blood taken from a person and later used in that same person, rather than from another donor.