Editorials in 2020

Genetic tools can help uncover evolutionary histories, migration patterns and admixture events of domesticated animals and their wild ancestors. The genetic window into the past can help shape breeding strategies and inform animal agricultural practices that should lead to a more resilient and sustainable future.

Increasing amounts of crop genomic resources, along with new technical achievements in genome analysis, can facilitate basic and translational research in agriculture, and expand the ability to meet the global challenge of food production and security.

Gene nomenclature can be complicated, and the official naming of genes requires rational standards to avoid confusion and to maximize clarity. The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee has released updated guidelines for the naming of human genes, and we encourage the community to adopt these recommendations.

When the status quo in science continues to perpetuate ingrained systems of discrimination, inequality and racism, the beneficiaries of these systems must not only reexamine their collective practices but also redress historical injustices through consequential, concrete actions that will lead to change. We cannot focus only on the first steps of listening and learning to build a better, fairer scientific community. We at Nature Genetics fully commit to pledging our energy and efforts toward long-term goals explicitly designed to fundamentally transform how science and its dissemination are conducted.

One of the many consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic is the need for the scientific community to adapt to the cancellation of conferences and events because of travel restrictions and social-distancing guidelines. We have seen a very swift conversion to online meetings, which have allowed for this established form of science communication to continue and opened new avenues for innovation in the reporting of research and discussion of ideas.

The promise of personalized medicine lies in the tailored treatment of individual patients, a process requiring detailed phenotypic and genetic information. Although the widespread collection of such data can help to advance the implementation of precision healthcare, the genomic sequencing data being amassed also include private information that could potentially be used as a basis for genetic discrimination. It is important for the genetics community to be aware of these risks and to contribute to policies designed to monitor and mitigate threats to the equitable treatment of individuals or populations on the basis of genetics.

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines for the naming of new human infectious diseases. The current global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus underscores the need to be accurate with our language, particularly as it relates to pandemics.

The Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium project, led by the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), coordinated the sequencing and analysis of 2,583 tumor whole genomes across 38 cancer types. This impressively large project, comprising many working groups focusing on various molecular or genetic features of cancer, has generated valuable data for the cancer research community that will continue to be mined for many years to come.

Given that it is based on heredity and has the ability to trace connections, genetics as a scientific discipline should be among those most attuned to diversity and global perspectives. Indigenous communities and scientists have much to contribute to genetics research, and they are making their voices heard. We celebrate these essential members of our larger genetics community, and we look forward to working together to learn from past examples, meet present challenges and support future opportunities.

As we usher in a new year of a new decade and ponder what the future will bring for the genetics field, we wish to reflect on some specific areas related to diversity, privacy and genome editing that require attention and vigilance from the community.