Manchester: What it means to take part

Kim Hannah

. Published on May 20, 2016. 0

Watch some patient stories from one of our partner GMCs in Manchester.

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Most of us have heard of genetics, the study of the way particular features or diseases are inherited through genes passed down from one generation to the next. But the more we learn about genes, the more we understand that the old idea of having a single gene for this, or a single gene for that, which determines your fate is not – except in the case of unusual inherited diseases – a good way of describing the complexity of genes. In fact, groups of genes work together and their activity is influenced by a huge variety of environmental and other factors. And we now know that the DNA between your genes is also very important.

You have a complete set of genes in almost every healthy cell in your body. One set of all these genes, (plus the DNA between the genes), is called a genome. Genomics is the study of the whole genome and how it works but has also come to have a broader meaning to include the way that the genome is interpreted and the technologies that have been developed to help do this.

To find out more visit www.genomicsengland.co.uk/the-100000-genomes-project/