A Geneticist is someone who specializes in the science of genetics. This is a branch of biology that deals with the characteristics of different organisms, the development of such characteristics, and how these characteristics are passed on to their progeny. A geneticist will evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with hereditary conditions or congenital malformations, and will also refer patients to other medical specialties. Geneticists treat and counsel patients with hereditary conditions, develop pharmaceutical and agricultural products and research inherited diseases. Geneticists study the genetic properties that contribute to an organism’s makeup, whether the organism is a food crop or a human. Geneticists typically find employment in law enforcement, agriculture or medicine, working for pharmaceutical companies, universities or government agencies. Normally, geneticists are divided into two categories: laboratory geneticist and genetic counselor. Geneticists study how different life forms vary and how these variations are passed on to succeeding generations. This requires them to conduct experiments in order to determine the origin, mechanisms, and governing laws of particular inherited traits. Geneticists also seek out determinants (such as disease resistance, size, and color differences) responsible for certain traits. They do this through careful analysis in order to gain understanding of the various relationships between heredity and factors like fertility and maturity. Depending on where they work, geneticists might then develop methods to modify or generate new traits through the use of chemicals, radiation, or other means, or to use what they learn in genetic counselling, in managing a hereditary disease, or in teaching a new crop of future geneticists. There are several branches of genetics that a person can choose to go into; each offers its own unique challenges and interesting subjects. Some geneticists go into agriculture in order to increase crop yield and learn about the resistance to various diseases that commonly affect valuable crops. Biomedicine applies a knowledge of genetics and genetic origin of some diseases in order to create medicines that target the causes of these diseases and disorders. They may also seek to treat genetic disorders that some people experience from birth, such as sickle-cell anemia.