Genetics is the science of genes, heredity and variation, concerned with how traits are encoded in DNA and transmitted from parents to offspring. In the context of hereditary disease, it provides the framework for understanding how inherited mutations and genetic variation give rise to disorders that run in families…
Genetics is the science of genes, heredity and variation, concerned with how traits are encoded in DNA and transmitted from parents to offspring. In the context of hereditary disease, it provides the framework for understanding how inherited mutations and genetic variation give rise to disorders that run in families, encompassing Mendelian patterns of dominant, recessive and sex-linked inheritance, the role of allele frequency and genetic drift in populations, the regulation and expression of disease-associated genes, and the concept of heritability that quantifies the genetic contribution to a trait or condition. The discipline links classical inheritance with molecular and population genetics, supporting diagnosis, risk assessment and the identification of genes underlying disease. Topics within this area include the mechanisms by which candidate genes contribute to human cardiovascular disease, the role of genes in tumour formation, allele-based inference on evolution and the problem of missing heritability and co-heritability in genomic studies, all of which bear on how genetic factors are inherited and expressed. Related work on natural selection, speciation, ontogenes and precision approaches in genetics and breeding illustrates the broader principles of inheritance and genetic variation. The field connects molecular biology, population genetics and clinical genetics to explain how genetic information is passed across generations and how inherited variation shapes susceptibility to disease.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 35 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Genetics, linking to each citing work.