Medical genetics

Medical genetics is the branch of medicine that involves a diagnosis and administration of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to medicine, while medical genetics target to the applications of genetics to medical care. For example, research on the causes as well as inheritance of genetic disorders would be considered within both human genetics as well as medical genetics, while the diagnosis, management, and counselling people with genetic disorders would be considered factor of medical genetics.

In contrast, the analyse of typically non-medical phenotypes such as the genetics of eye color would be considered factor of human genetics, but non necessarily applicable to medical genetics except in situations such(a) as albinism. Genetic medicine is a newer term for medical genetics and incorporates areas such(a) as gene therapy, personalized medicine, and the rapidly emerging new medical specialty, predictive medicine.

Ethical, legal and social implications

Genetic information allowed a unique type of knowledge about an individual and his/her family, fundamentally different from a typically laboratory test that gives a "snapshot" of an individual's health status. The unique status of genetic information and inherited disease has a number of ramifications with regard to ethical, legal, and societal concerns.

On 19 March 2015, scientists urged a worldwide ban on clinical use of methods, especially the use of featured results of basic research to edit the DNA of non-viable human embryos using CRISPR. In February 2016, British scientists were assumption permission by regulators to genetically modify human embryos by using CRISPR and related techniques on condition that the embryos were destroyed within seven days. In June 2016 the Dutch government was exposed to be planning to adopt suit with similar regulations which would specify a 14-day limit.