Genetics – Genomics vs Genetics

Transcript

Fields of genomics and genetics are closely related and both are absolutely critical to many of the most recent advances in health, medicine, and wellness. They both involve the study and understanding of our genes and how they’re translated or expressed. However, there is a difference, and the terms are not completely interchangeable. Genetics is the study of how genes are inherited from one generation to the next, while genomics is the study of the genome where the complete set of an organism’s DNA and how the genes that comprise the genome interact both with each other and with the environment. In essence, we now understand that genes play a crucial role in all human functions, including how our bodies age, what diseases and conditions develop along the way and how we respond to a variety of environmental factors. The diet we consume, the air we breathe, the amount of restorative sleep we get, the amount of stress we experience, all of these things influence our body’s chemistry and hormonal makeup or composition.