Advancements in Omics Sciences

The increased knowledge of the biology of the human organism, its physiology, and pathological degeneration, and the deciphering of the genetic code of the human cell combined with modern microengineering and bioinformatics have led to analytical approaches that address the biological complexity with limited a priori reduction. Instead of analyzing single gene, protein, or metabolite, their entirety, the genome, the proteome, or the metabolome, is analyzed. In accordance with the suffix "-ome" indicating the entirety, these approaches are grouped together under the label "omics." Omics are applied in translational medicine where research findings are to be translated into clinically meaningful applications based on their intrinsic potential for personalized medicine. Diagnosis, prognostication, and therapy response prediction can be assessed in an unbiased fashion applying omics allowing for personalization of medicine from risk evaluation to the management of therapy resistance.