Genomic advancement: aiming to affirm and improve human life

Challenges to improving human health and well being are both within and outside our control despite the best of scientific advances. While advances continue to offer improved technologies, and thus our ability to not only improve detection and treatment of disease, preventing the roots of illness from taking hold involves environmental and social factors. For example, climate and politics can aid or abet the best of health improvement strategies yielding untoward consequences for those in need who lack substantial control over their access to food and healthcare. In this issue, we present a collection of articles that contribute to our understanding of genomics, ethical and policy factors necessary to improving health. We start with a special section on the genomics of plant breeding and move to translational genomics and health improvement.