Genetics is the study of the operating instructions for life.

To this could be added: Scientists look at how the instructions are passed from one generation to the next, how instructions differ from one living thing to another, and how the instructions work.

For a “young” audience, something modern–operating instructions–could be useful. Note that the second sentence distinguishes the various components of genetic study: inheritance, form, function.

This is how I would explain genetics in one sentence:

A person inherites 50% of their genes from one parent and the way the genes are expressed or not expressed, which leads to the way you behave for the most part, how you look, why you have a genetic health condition and risk, how athletic you are, are influenced by envrionmental factors and genes becoming expressed and silenced.

I’ll cheat and try two. How about:

Genetics is the study of DNA and how it is passed down from parents to their kids. DNA has the blueprints for making and running a living thing.

Glad to see you’re back Hsien!

I have no idea how to explain it in one sentence. But explaining things more simply so that they can be introduced at a younger age is really important!

Being able to explain complicated medical and science information in easy to understand terms and sentences is very hard to do. I have a full-time job where I do this…actually, two full-time jobs where I do this. Being able to explain a term that I can’t even pronounce is hard to do.

Wow, how did you get this type of job? Would you be able to share the name of this company? I have a few questions from time-to-time that I would like to be answered.

Our topic has switched a bit, and I thought other readers of the “what can you do with a degree in genetics thread” would appreciate the following.

When I sold my home recently, two trucks from 1-800-GOTJUNK pulled up to remove my remaining items. Chatting with the boss, I learned that she has a PhD in genetics. What interesting jobs we end up with. And I thought all along that my lack of professional work in genetics was because I married a geologist!

Hi, simplicity lovers, me again. I have been intrigued by Hsien Hsien’s question about explaining genetics in a simply way, and–while I have not found a simple sentence defining genetics–I did find a site for kids that explains genes and some inherited disorders very well. Check out: http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/birth_defect/what_is_gene.html

I’ll try it out on my 5-year-old granddaughter. Maybe the explanation will be simpler than the one I tried when she and her friends wondered what the balls with letters on them (A,T,G,C) were. They were inside a giveaway item I picked up at a conference.

hi all. my 8 year old already understands a bit of genetics, a little about DNA, evolution, and paleogenetic trees. As a homeschooling mom with an MS in Biochemistry, I find that it is quite useless to explain “genetics” as a field of study when your audience wants to know about dinosaurs. So I rather would like to explain dinosaurs and touch genetics along the way.