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What does a Geneticist do?

Daniel Liden
Daniel Liden

A geneticist is someone who studies and works to apply his or her knowledge of genetics, a branch of biological sciences that involves heredity and natural variation in living organisms. These scientists primarily focus on the passage of traits from parents to offspring through generations, though this is far from the only area of interest. They can work in any number of fields, ranging from environmental sciences to law, and some conduct research purely for scientific gain, to add to the body of knowledge that scientists have amassed on the topic of genetics.

Gregor Mendel, a priest and scientist in the 17th century, is widely regarded as the first geneticist and is often called the "father of genetics." He is known for studying the inheritance of traits in peas, and he determined that traits are inherited based on a specific set of rules. His discoveries formed the foundation of the modern field and are widely studied in schools. Those planning to study or pursue a career in this area will undoubtedly study Mendelian genetics early on in their educations.

Geneticists might become involved in helping to modify and improve crops.
Geneticists might become involved in helping to modify and improve crops.

There are many different branches of genetics that a person can choose to go into, and each offers a unique batch of challenges and interesting subjects. Some geneticists go into agriculture and use their knowledge to try to increase crop yield and the resistance to various diseases that commonly affect valuable crops. Biomedicine applies a knowledge of genetics and of the genetic origin of some diseases to creating medicines that target the causes of such diseases and disorders. These professionals may also seek to treat genetic disorders that some people experience from birth, such as sickle-cell anemia.

Geneticists help make biomedical therapies possible to target certain diseases.
Geneticists help make biomedical therapies possible to target certain diseases.

Forensic scientists often use a knowledge of genetics to run DNA tests in order to verify the guilt or innocence of various suspects. A geneticist may be called to assist an archaeologist or historian in analyzing ancient organic matter. Some get into the field of bioinformatics, which combines computer science with biology, and attempt to analyze huge amounts of information, such as that in the human genome, and draw scientific conclusions from it.

Many geneticists work in research labs.
Many geneticists work in research labs.

The field has produced some interesting legal issues, especially in the area of intellectual copyright laws. As such, a scientist might even find work in a legal field. The ethics of genetic engineering and the legality of organizations or individuals copyrighting genes are issues of increasing prominence that invite many strong opinions.

Discussion Comments

Moldova

I have to say that I find the subject of genetics fascinating. It is amazing when you consider the advances in genetics that scientists have developed over the years.

DNA analysis has now allowed the exoneration of a lot of innocent people that were convicted of crimes that they didn’t commit. Also, the development of genetic testing in order to determine the likelihood of developing certain diseases is also promising.

It gives people a choice and allows them a chance to develop a proactive plan against development of the disease. There was story on the news the other day about a lady that had breast cancer in her family. She took a genetic test that revealed that she had a very likely chance of developing the disease and decided to get a double mastectomy in order to avoid the disease altogether.

While this may seem drastic to some people, at least it empowered the lady to do something about her health.

bluespirit

@Tomislav - You won't believe it but they did finish mapping the 20,000 to 25,000 genes in the human DNA. I am not sure if it was solely geneticists but I do know it took thirteen years! Not quite forever but it was quite an undertaking if it took 13 years.

Although the Human Genome Project has been finished mapping the genome, the project continues to do further projects in analyzing the information they uncovered and partners with private companies to do research as well.

On one Human Genome Project site you can see all of the neat things they are looking at such as gene patent ruling laws, finding disease pinpoints in genes, and even lowering the cost in decoding a genome.

Tomislav

I loved learning about genetics in my high school biology class. My teacher had us pair with a person from the opposite sex and draw a picture of what our child would look like based on our genetics.

Sadly I do not remember as much as what I would have liked to from the genetics studying we did, but I did learn that the eye color blue is a recessive trait and eye color brown is a dominant trait; therefore since I have brown eyes and my mom has blue eyes and my dad has brown eyes - I could have a baby with brown or blue eyes.

I also remember hearing when I was in school that people were working on mapping the human genome. I thought this was brilliant, but that it would take forever!

Was it geneticists that headed up the project, did the project ever get finished and did it take forever?

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    • Geneticists might become involved in helping to modify and improve crops.
      By: luchshen
      Geneticists might become involved in helping to modify and improve crops.
    • Geneticists help make biomedical therapies possible to target certain diseases.
      By: Ljupco Smokovski
      Geneticists help make biomedical therapies possible to target certain diseases.
    • Many geneticists work in research labs.
      By: Darren Baker
      Many geneticists work in research labs.
    • Gregor Mendel is known as the father of genetics for his work studying inherited traits.
      Gregor Mendel is known as the father of genetics for his work studying inherited traits.
    • A geneticist works to add to the knowledge scientists have on the topic of genetics.
      By: spotmatikphoto
      A geneticist works to add to the knowledge scientists have on the topic of genetics.