The term genomics sounds quite interesting, although it is mainly confused with genetics. Genetics refers to the study of genes, whereas genomics is a broader term which encompasses the study of an organisms entire set of genes (genome).<\/p>\n
Some facts to know<\/p>\n
Do read: What is genetic engineering and how can it benefit healthcare?<\/p>\n
Exploiting genomics in medicine<\/p>\n
Genomic medicine is a speciality of medical science that uses an individual's genomic information to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. Some of the recent advances in genomic medicine are discussed below:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Image source: Vadimgozhda | Megapixl.com<\/p>\n
Precision medicine<\/p>\n
Precision medicine exploits an individual's genetic information for disease diagnosis and treatment. However, it doesn't only consider the genome but utilises other factors such as the environment of a person and their health history.<\/p>\n
Precision medicine bypasses the 'one size fits all' approaches that are the same for everyone and develops individual-specific approaches.<\/p>\n
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)<\/p>\n
CRISPR is a gene editing tool and can be simply compared with a text editor, for a clear understanding. Also known as 'molecular scissors', the technique is used to edit genetic code. CRISPR shines a ray of hope in treating fatal diseases, including cancer and HIV.<\/p>\n
Despite its great potential in medical science, the technique holds several apprehensions and questionable applications. Due to this reason, CRISPR is currently considered non-ethical in human beings and is banned in several countries, including the USA.<\/p>\n
Gene therapy<\/p>\n
Gene therapy involves the insertion of a healthy foreign genetic material into a person's cell to treat a disease. It is a one-shot cure as it corrects the underlying genetic cause of disease.<\/p>\n
The first CAR T-cell-based gene therapy got approval in 2017 in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gene therapies also hold a promising future for cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
Concerns regarding gene-based techniques<\/p>\n
Also read: Telix (ASX: TLX) adds new asset in its cancer treatment pipeline<\/p>\n
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Link: The term genomics sounds quite interesting, although it is mainly confused with genetics. Genetics refers to the study of genes, whereas genomics is a broader term which encompasses the study of an organisms entire set of genes (genome). Some facts to know Do read: What is genetic engineering and how can it benefit healthcare? Continue reading
\nThe role of genomics in medicine: A look at pros and cons - Kalkine Media<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"