Ómicos

Ómicos is a term sometimes used in Spanish to refer collectively to the family of sciences known as omics, which study biological systems using high-throughput molecular data. In standard Spanish, the names of these disciplines are typically formed with the feminine suffix -ómica (genómica, proteómica, metabolómica, transcriptómica, etc.). The masculine plural ó m icos is uncommon and would usually appear only in specific grammatical constructions where a masculine noun is implied or in informal or shorthand usage.

Etymology and naming conventions

The suffix -ómica originates from the Greek-derived suffix -ómica, used in Spanish to name fields of study. The English term omics gave rise to corresponding Spanish forms ending in -ómica for individual disciplines and, in some contexts, to a shorthand reference to the entire group as omics. The standard practice in writing is to use las ó micas or las genómica/proteómica/metabolómica, depending on the field.

Fields and scope

Major examples include genómica (genomics), proteómica (proteomics), metabolómica (metabolomics), transcriptómica (transcriptomics), glycomica (glycomics), lipidómica (lipidomics) y interactómica (interactomics). These areas often overlap, forming a multi-omics approach that analyzes biological systems through multiple molecular layers simultaneously.

Methods and data

Omics disciplines rely on high-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, microarrays, and advanced imaging, combined with bioinformatics and systems biology to integrate and interpret large datasets.

Applications and challenges

Omics has practice in biomedicine, personalized medicine, agriculture, and environmental science. Challenges include data integration across different omics layers, standardization, data sharing, and addressing ethical, legal, and social implications of big biological data.