KLINIKUM+/ Decoding Ourselves: An Introduction to the "Omics"

Brain&Coffee Session for the Early Birds!

🧬Ever wondered why some people respond well to a particular medicine while others don't? Or how scientists are developing new ways to fight diseases like cancer with incredible precision? Part of the answer lies in a revolutionary field of biology broadly known as "-omics".

Imagine your body is an incredibly complex city. For a long time, we could only study individual buildings or streets. But what if we could get a satellite view of the entire city, showing how all the roads connect, where the power grids run, and how traffic flows all at once? That's essentially what "-omics" allows us to do with living organisms.

This introductory lecture will peel back the layers of this exciting field. We'll explore:

What are "-Omics"? We'll start with the basics, demystifying terms like genomics (the study of all our genes – our body's blueprint), proteomics (studying all the proteins – the city's workers and machinery), metabolomics (looking at all the small molecules involved in our metabolism – the city's fuel and an output), and more.

Why is it a Big Deal? Discover how "-omics" is transforming medicine by paving the way for personalized treatments, helping us understand complex diseases, and even improving the food we eat. We'll look at real-world examples, like how analyzing the complete genetic makeup of a tumor can help doctors choose the most effective cancer therapy.

The Tools of the Trade (Simplified!): Get a glimpse into the cool technologies that allow scientists to study these vast collections of biological molecules and how computers help make sense of this massive amount of data.

🔬No advanced biology degree is required! This session is for anyone curious about the cutting edge of science and how understanding the "big picture" at a molecular level is helping us unravel the mysteries of life and improve human health.