How important is my biological family to my health?Įvery human being shares DNA with their blood relatives, which is why your family’s health history is so important. 3 That’s where DNA testing can help-by catching these genetic risks before they become problems. 2 But variants, sometimes expressed as a bad line of code in our DNA sequence, can also cause health problems. DNA variants are what determine our inherited traits mentioned earlier-hair color, eye color, height, weight, etc. Now let’s dive deeper into variants and what they mean for your health. Genetics and genomics both have a hand in your health and the chance of developing certain diseases. Genes carry the instructions to determine whether you have blond or brown hair, have green or blue eyes, how tall you’ll grow, and a host of other traits. 1 Genomics is the study of all a person’s genes as a whole. Genetics is the study of genes, which are functional groups of DNA passed down from your biological parents-1 set from each parent. But DNA testing can actually play an even more important role in your life, and that’s to identify certain genetic code that could affect your health.įor instance, along with knowing your family's health history, DNA testing can help you determine if you’ve inherited any genetic variants that could increase your risk for certain diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart problems.īut what’s a variant? Are genetics and genomics the same thing? Let’s start there. When most people think of DNA testing, they usually imagine 1 of 2 things: online tools that help them discover their roots, or-thanks to TV crime dramas-a DNA test to pinpoint whodunnit.
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