Genomics is the study of our heritable material. It has been mainly confined to the research community but recent breakthroughs in methodology have increased the speed and decreased the cost of sequencing genomes. The ability to turn this into a mainstream technology leads to all sorts of opportunities and potential misuses.
The technology is moving quickly. A great timeline of genomics discoveries (PDF) was featured in Nature magazine. For a domainer, identifying the potential applications and identifying the hot topics are key.
Personal Genomics
Unlocking the secrets held in each person’s genetic code may one day be possible. This may allow the identification of disease susceptibility, sensitivity to treatments, personalized diets and even customized predictions for potential children.
PersonalGenome, DiseaseGenome, GenomeHealth, YourGenome, MyGenome are examples of domain names in this area. Domainers have been speculating for some time in this area but there are still gaps left.
The Genome Diet
We know that some people are susceptible to weight gain or heart disease but we can’t predict which people those are. In the future, genomics may provide that information and allow doctors to put patients on customized diets to avoid those diseases. GenomeDiet.com is already taken but this area has some potential.
The Family Genome
Following genetic traits in families can be very important to understand inheritable diseases or other factors. Think of the medical history your doctor takes.
FamilyGenes, FamilyGenomics, FamilyGenetics, FamilyGenome, FamilyHealth, MyFamilyHealth are some possibilities. I settled on FamilyHealthMap.com for website development. With shifts in the mobility and changing family dynamics such as divorce and remarriage, tracking family health history is more difficult. Secure ways to store this information and make it available to those who need it will likely be in demand.
Personalized medicine
The idea of personalized medicine is being discussed today. The aim is to identify which patients will respond to which drugs and which patients will respond badly to certain medications.
Genetic Discrimination
Fear exists among the public over this topic. Can insurance companies or employers discriminate using this genetic information? The security of this information will be a hot topic. As personal genomics progresses, the identification of race genomics and its potential abuse will likely rear its head. Domain names in this area include GeneticDiscrimination, GenomicInformation and GeneticInformation. I can imagine a blog on these topics.
Genomics, Genetics and Eugenics
So if we identify the genes behind “desirable” traits, will we be at liberty to select for those traits? This now enters the field of eugenics which the Nazis notoriously abused. Eugenomics and Eugenetics are examples of domain names. If not apparent physical traits, what about psychological genomics? If genomics can identify likely murderers, criminals or antisocial traits, what do we do with these people? PsychGenomics, PsychoGenomics, PsychoGenetics and MoodGenome are possibilities. MoodGenome.com is available if that appeals to you. Mood disorders are treatable but the earlier they are treated the better. What if you could identify the treatment population?
Foodomics
What about our food supply? Genomics and genetics can impact that greatly. FoodGenomics, Foodomics, Plantomics Cropomics and CropGenome would cover this area. We already know genetically modified food exists and given the strain on our food supply, it may become more prevalent.
The ability to peer into the inheritable material in living organisms gives us a tremendous opportunity as well as a huge responsibility. The ethical and social questions will be many. EthicalGenome, Ethomics and other names may describe the hot topics of these future debates.
For more information, see this personal genomics article from MIT and U.S. National Institutes of Health articles on the future of genomics research
Happy domaining.
