Search Results
Talking Glossary
When analysis of a patient’s genome identifies a variant, but it is unclear whether that variant is actually connected to a health condition, the finding is called a variant of uncertain significance (abbreviated VUS).
Talking Glossary
A secondary genomic finding refers to a genomic variant, found through the analysis of a person’s genome, that is of potential medical value yet is unrelated to the initial reason for examining the person’s genome.
Talking Glossary
Scientific racism is a historical pattern of ideologies that generate pseudo-scientific racist beliefs.
Talking Glossary
Precision medicine (generally considered analogous to personalized medicine or individualized medicine) is an innovative approach that uses information about an individual’s genomic, environmental and lifestyle information to guide decisions related to their medical management.
Talking Glossary
A polygenic risk score (abbreviated PRS) uses genomic information alone to assess a person’s chances of having or developing a particular medical condition.
Talking Glossary
Next-generation DNA sequencing (abbreviated NGS) refers to the use of technologies for sequencing DNA that became available shortly after the completion of the Human Genome Project (which relied on the first-generation method of Sanger sequencing).
Talking Glossary
Nanopore DNA sequencing is a laboratory technique for determining the exact sequence of nucleotides, or bases, in a DNA molecule.
Talking Glossary
Mosaicism refers to the presence of cells in a person that have a different genome from the body’s other cells.
Talking Glossary
Methylation is a chemical modification of DNA and other molecules that may be retained as cells divide to make more cells. regulating the production of proteins that the gene encodes.
Talking Glossary
A megabase (abbreviated Mb) is a unit of measurement used to help designate the length of DNA. One megabase is equal to 1 million bases.