Difference between revisions of "Main Page"
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*[[History of Genetics]] | *[[History of Genetics]] | ||
| − | However, this kind of division is very arbitrary and heavily influenced by historical progression of the different sub-fields. There are additional large fields that could be listed, but are not as primary as the divisions above, such as: | + | However, this kind of division is very arbitrary and heavily influenced by historical progression of the different sub-fields. There are additional large fields that could be listed, but are not as primary as the divisions above (and some suffer from hyperbole), such as: |
*[[Ancient DNA]] | *[[Ancient DNA]] | ||
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*[[Ecological Genetics]] | *[[Ecological Genetics]] | ||
*[[Epigenetics]] | *[[Epigenetics]] | ||
| + | *[[Experimental Evolution]] | ||
*[[Genetic Anthropology]] | *[[Genetic Anthropology]] | ||
*[[Human and Medical Genetics]] | *[[Human and Medical Genetics]] | ||
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*[[Personal Genomics]] | *[[Personal Genomics]] | ||
*[[Phylogenetics]] | *[[Phylogenetics]] | ||
| + | *[[Synthetic Biology]] | ||
| + | *[[Systems Biology]] | ||
I am purposely avoiding dividing the field by taxonomy (except for human genetics and related fields). The classical taxonomic divisions of biology are losing their usefulness. A large part of this is due to genetics and evolution where the same basic principles can apply across a wide range of organisms. I am also avoiding separating genetics and genomics, some tools and approaches may be different but these are really ends of a continuum that has been artificially exaggerated. | I am purposely avoiding dividing the field by taxonomy (except for human genetics and related fields). The classical taxonomic divisions of biology are losing their usefulness. A large part of this is due to genetics and evolution where the same basic principles can apply across a wide range of organisms. I am also avoiding separating genetics and genomics, some tools and approaches may be different but these are really ends of a continuum that has been artificially exaggerated. | ||
Revision as of 05:25, 13 July 2014
Genetics and Evolution are central to modern biological understanding. Genetics itself is a huge, rapidly changing field and can be divided into several main categories.
- Classical Genetics
- Quantitative Genetics
- Population Genetics
- Molecular Genetics
- Genetic Engineering
- Genetics and Ethics
- History of Genetics
However, this kind of division is very arbitrary and heavily influenced by historical progression of the different sub-fields. There are additional large fields that could be listed, but are not as primary as the divisions above (and some suffer from hyperbole), such as:
- Ancient DNA
- Conservation Genetics
- Developmental Genetics
- Ecological Genetics
- Epigenetics
- Experimental Evolution
- Genetic Anthropology
- Human and Medical Genetics
- Metagenomics
- Microbiome Genetics
- Personal Genomics
- Phylogenetics
- Synthetic Biology
- Systems Biology
I am purposely avoiding dividing the field by taxonomy (except for human genetics and related fields). The classical taxonomic divisions of biology are losing their usefulness. A large part of this is due to genetics and evolution where the same basic principles can apply across a wide range of organisms. I am also avoiding separating genetics and genomics, some tools and approaches may be different but these are really ends of a continuum that has been artificially exaggerated.
One way to get started is by reading about what a gene is, genetic heritability versus environmental effects on phenotype variance, and the structure of DNA.
