What is Genomics? How Has It Impacted the Healthcare Sector?

Genome or Genomics is a prominent terminology in the medical field. Researchers have been studying this area in healthcare for decades now. But what is a genome?

It is a procedure that promotes the utilization of human genetics to find appropriate medication for their medical conditions. It is an age-long process that not only assesses a rare health condition but also looks for its causes to offer remedial medicines.   

Statistics reveal that there are over 7,000 rare diseases around the world, and a maximum of them stay untreated due to the lack of knowledge on the same. Genomic-based treatments were developed to address such weaknesses in the medical field.   

This blog shall discuss genomes alongside their impact on the healthcare sector in the following sections.   

What is Genomics?  

Genomics is an important field of medical science study that assesses people’s DNA and genes to identify health conditions. The method examines all DNA or genomes of an organism. It focuses on analyzing the genome formation, functionality, evolution, mapping, and reconstruction.   

In a simplified way, this medical study tracks all the genes in a body, categorizing them according to their characteristics and similarities with each other. This methodology is highly leveraged to identify the genetic differences of the patients to gain knowledge on various physical conditions and develop medicines for the same.  

There are four broad types of genomic research: Structural genomics tracks all protein structures present in a genome. Meanwhile, functional genomic gathers data from gene sequences to understand the functions of proteins. The third type, comparative genomics, compares the genomic attributes of diverse organisms. Lastly, mutation genomic assesses the mutational genomes in a physical body.   

History of Genomic studies in healthcare:  

Historical evidence reveals that genomic studies have gone through gradual evolution and are still a developing phenomenon. DNA was primarily discovered in the late 1860s; however, there was no proper knowledge about it.  

Nevertheless, the period between 1950 and 1969 observed great knowledge distribution and attainment in genomics research. Such contributions were made significantly by reputed medical researchers Erwin Chargaff, Alfred Hershey, Martha Chase, James Watson, and Francis Crick.  

The Human Genome Project was introduced in 1990 to advance global genomic studies that aimed to assess the human genome alongside its three billion chemical units. Moreover, the project intended to make genome-related knowledge publicly accessible for free.   

Following that, several nations funded genomic studies worldwide. Currently, the research has been achieving great heights by discovering the tougher genome sequences.   

What Is Genomics in Healthcare? Its Impact on the Medical Sector:  

Healthcare services doubtlessly have progressed in the last few decades; however, the global rare disease rate is still a nightmare for clinical professionals. Genomics, in this regard, assists the medical sector in analyzing different organisms by understanding their unique genome sequences.   

In 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) asserted that it had successfully made a breakthrough by identifying over 20,000 genome sequences that construct human organisms. The discovery ultimately helped in creating a blueprint of the human body and understanding what happens to people when they are unwell.   

Thousands of people die every year due to late disease diagnosis and failure to get appropriate treatment. The HGP has identified almost 2000 ill genes that contribute to disease formation in the human body. Therefore, based on the symptoms of a disease, genome assessment can easily begin a diagnostics procedure based on which remedies are finalized.   

Providing appropriate treatment is also an objective of genomic studies that helped in the formation of pharmacogenomics. It focuses on the fact that human bodies possess different genome sequences, and a particular medicine can work differently in dissimilar bodies. It ultimately boosted the emergence of clinical drugs and medicines with pharmacogenomic knowledge so that physicians could prescribe medication to patients according to their gene sequence.   

Concluding Remarks!  

The genomic study is a revolutionary advancement for the healthcare sector. It has helped in understanding different genome sequences of diverse human organisms, early disease diagnostics, and offering appropriate medication for dissimilar illnesses.  

Experts believe that there will be a significant evolution of genomics in the upcoming years that will simplify gene sequences of dangerous diseases such as cancer and diabetes. It will also aim at offering suitable remedies for such illnesses. Go through our blog section and enhance your knowledge about the ongoing tech advancements.