Introduction

This course looks at metagenomics and its applications. Metagenomics studies the genetic material collected directly from the environment, allowing scientists to analyse all the living organisms present in a sample without the need for seeing them or growing them in a laboratory. By examining DNA or RNA from places such as soil, water, air, or the human body, metagenomics reveals the wide range of life that exists. While it is widely used in microbiology and health, metagenomics also has important applications in monitoring biodiversity in ecosystems, and supporting advances in biotechnology. This course will introduce the key ideas behind metagenomics and show how these methods are used across many scientific disciplines.

This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 1 study in Science at The Open University.