Exposomics and Growth Rings in the Teeth

Abstract

The ‘exposome’ concept was introduced in 2005 to address the disparity between the genomic sciences,where rapid technological advances provided an expanse of high-precision analyses,and the environmental exposure sciences that measured a small fraction of the thousands of environmental exposures individuals exprience [1]. The exposome concept encompasses lifecourse environmental exposures (including lifestyle factors),from the prenatal period onwards.It is important to consider that the exposure includes not only external exposures but also internal factors (e.g. inflammation,infection and the microbiome) [2].