John N. Weinstein, Science 282:628-629, 1998
There has been a remarkable increase since last year in the prominence of what might loosely be termed "omic" research in biology. Following the definition of (1) "-ome" as an "abstract entitiy, group, or mass," "omics" would be the study of entities in aggregate, in this case the DNA, RNA, protein, or other molecular complement of a cell, tissue or organism.
Beyond semantics, omic research appears to require a different mind-set from the more traditional study of one gene, gene product, or process at a time. Often, one generates a database of molecular information with only one limited ability to predict what about it will prove most useful. A 1984 position paper on sequencing the genome (2) offered the candid opinion that
In some respects, like the journeys to the moon, it is simply a "tour de force"; it is not at all clear that knowledge of the nucleotide sequence of the human genome will, initially, provide deep insights into the physical nature of man. Nevertheless, we are confident that this project will provide an integrating focus for all efforts to use DNA cloning techniques in the study of human genetics.
Despite obvious excitement about the genome project , some referees, editors, site visitors, and study sections have tended to disparage other omic studies as "fishing expeditions" -- often because the hypothesis that drives the generation of a molecular database relates to the nature of information and its utility, rather than to biological specifics. That bias has been dissipating (although not rapidly enough) because of the growing realization that we will have to understand our favorite biological molecules in the context of many thousands of others and that a wide net must be cast to be sure that we have, in fact, found the important ones. In line with a point made by Hieter and Boguski (3), omic research should be viewed as synergistic with the mode traditional studies of single molecules, The two approaches to science require similar creativity, judgement, and technical rigor. If one is going to fish, it is best to do so in teeming waters with the finest equipment and flawless technique.
References:
Webster's Third International Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1981),p. 1573
R.E. Edgar, H. F. Noller, R.A. Ludwig, R.L.Sinsheimer, paper prepared for the Human Genome Institute Workshop, Santa Cruz, CA, May 1985.
P. Heiter and M. Boguskim Science 278, 601(1997).
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