Basics Of Genetic Analysis

Genetics is a scientific field in the area of biology that deals with genes – their molecular structure and function, their expression and occurrence in populations, connected to heredity and the study of kinship among organisms.

Who and what we are is largely determined by our genetic makeup or DNA. DNA is essentially present in nucleus (core) of every cell of our body. It determines our appearance, how we respond to the environment factors (e.g. medicine, sunlight, nutrients, physical effort …) and to a certain extent also our behaviour, our personality etc. Our genetic makeup is unique – comparable to a fingerprint, because in the whole world no two persons have an identical genetic makeup (except identical twins).

Not so long ago, people did not have much knowledge about genetics and used experiments to learn how certain properties are inherited. By trial and error they learned how to obtain the most resistant species of plants and how likely it is that a particular trait is expressed. Today, the base of genetic knowledge is immense and increasing each day, because we have advanced techniques that can read person’s genome and understand what that means for us. With these techniques we can determine family relationships, our tendencies to develop a certain disease, the personal response to medicaments and nutrients, discover hidden potentials, talents, personality traits and realize many other important things about ourselves.